Japan's population drops by record number to 124.8mn

Japan's population declined to 124.8 million as of January 1, falling by the biggest number since the current survey began in 1968, affected by record-low births, government data has revealed.

With fewer than 1 million births in Japan for a third straight year in 2018, the population dropped a record 433,239 to 124,776,364 for the 10th straight year of decline, according to the data released by the Internal Affairs Ministry on Wednesday.

The number of registered foreign residents, meanwhile, increased to 2,667,199, up 169,543 from a year earlier, with all 47 prefectures seeing a rise in the figure as companies are turning to people from overseas to deal with a severe labor shortage amid Japan's rapidly graying population and declining birthrate, reports Kyodo news agency.

The number of births of Japanese fell to 921,000 last year and deaths totaled 1,363,564 for the sixth consecutive year of increase, with deaths outnumbering births for the 12th straight year.

People aged 65 or older accounted for 28.06 per cent, up 0.40 percentage point from a year earlier, of the entire population. The ratio of people aged between 15 and 64 who are regarded as working population accounted for 59.49 per cent, down 0.28 point.

The population decreased in 42 prefectures, with Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido logging the biggest fall of 39,461. The only bright spots were Tokyo, which saw its population grow 73,205 to about 13.19 million, prefectures in the vicinity and the southern island prefecture of Okinawa.

Okinawa was also the sole prefecture where births outnumbered deaths in Japan.

In the meantime, the Japanese government faces the need to help foreigners live in the country more comfortably, according to critics.

According to a government survey covering 375 foreigners compiled in June, 90 percent said they need public support to improve their living conditions, with assistance in finding housing sought most.