Japan’s total population has fallen to 123.05 million, according to preliminary data from the 2025 national census, down by around 3.09 million from the previous such survey conducted five years earlier.
The nation’s population has now shrunk for three censuses in a row — beginning with the 2015 survey when it fell for the first time since the government started conducting a census in 1920. With the latest data, Japan’s headcount plummeted by 2.5%, marking the most dramatic decline on record and accelerating from a 0.7% drop recorded in 2020.
The nationwide census is conducted every five years and records the presence of everyone residing in Japan — including foreign residents — asking questions such as their age, gender and employment status.
The latest data, released Friday, positions Japan as the 12th most populous country in the world, down from 11th place after the previous census. Among the top 20 most populous countries, Japan, Russia, China and Thailand all saw their populations decline in 2025 compared with 2020, with Japan showing the largest drop.
By prefecture, only the populations of Tokyo and Okinawa grew, by 199,000 and 1,000, respectively. Tokyo remains by far the most populous prefecture in the country, with 14.24 million inhabitants, comprising 11.6% of the nationwide population.
Forty-five other prefectures saw their populations fall. The largest decrease was seen in Hokkaido, down 239,000, followed by Shizuoka and Hyogo prefectures, reduced by 164,000 and 141,000, respectively.
The prefectures of Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi, Shiga and Fukuoka, where the populations rose in the 2020 survey, all saw declines in 2025.
The number of households in the country increased 2.3% from the previous survey, to 57.12 million, while the average number of people per household decreased to 2.15 in 2025 from 3.45 in 1970 — suggesting that the number of single-person households is on the rise. The number of people per household is the smallest in Tokyo, at 1.88.
