Faisal Mahmud
29 September 2026•Update: 29 September 2026
Japan’s elderly population reached a record high as the country’s overall population declined for a third consecutive census, Kyodo News reported Tuesday, citing finalized 2025 census results.
People aged 65 and above accounted for 29.4% of Japan’s population in 2025, up 0.9% from the previous census in 2020.
Japan’s population, including foreign residents, fell by 3.17 million, or 2.5%, from 2020 to 122,972,528 as of Oct. 1, 2025.
The census, conducted every five years since 1920, showed the population declining for a third consecutive survey.
Meanwhile, 30.1% of the population was concentrated in the Tokyo metropolitan area, crossing the 30% threshold for the first time.
Japan’s demographic decline has been accompanied by persistently low births.
The country recorded 671,236 births among Japanese residents in 2025, down 14,937 from the previous year and the lowest since comparable records began in 1899, according to Health Ministry data.
The total fertility rate also fell to a record-low 1.14 from 1.15 in 2024.
However, preliminary Health Ministry data showed 342,068 births in the first half of 2026, including foreign nationals, up 0.8% year-on-year and marking the first increase for the January-June period in 11 years.
Deaths stood at 778,982 during the same period, resulting in a natural population decline of 436,914.
