Japan’s population shrinks by almost 1 million

Tokyo, Feb 26: A latest census report issued on Friday showed that Japan’s population decreased by almost a million over a five-year period. The report issued by the internal affairs ministry said Japan’s population was 127.11 million as of October 1, 2015 — a fall of around 947,000 from the 2010 census, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Ministry officials said natural population reduction — the number of deaths surpassing that of births eclipsed population growth driven by such social factors as an increase in foreign residents. They declared that the country’s population is now in a declining trend.

Tokyo, Aichi, Saitama were among eight prefectures to see a population increase. The remaining 39 posted a decline, including Osaka, where the headcount fell for the first time in decades.

Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, three prefectures severely affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami experienced a decline. Fukushima saw the largest drop of 115,000. (IANS)