The number of Japanese people living in Japan has decreased for the 16th consecutive year to about 121 million, marking the largest annual recorded decline of over 900,000.
The Internal Affairs Ministry says the total number of people living in Japan as of January 1 this year was just over 124.331 million, a decline of about 554,500, or 0.44 percent, from last year.
Tokyo had the largest population of some 14 million, followed by neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture with 9.2 million and Osaka Prefecture with 8.8 million.
Tottori Prefecture had the smallest population of about 534,000, while neighboring Shimane Prefecture had the second fewest number of people at about 642,600. Kochi Prefecture had the third fewest, with 665,000.
The population grew year-on-year in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, while the 45 other prefectures saw declines.
The number of Japanese residents was just over 120.653 million, a decline of about 908,600, or 0.75 percent, from last year.
Both the population decrease and the rate of decline were the largest since record-keeping began in 1968.
The population of Japanese residents has been declining for 16 straight years since peaking at more than 127 million in 2009.
Meanwhile, the number of foreigners living in Japan was over 3.677 million, up about 354,100 from the previous year. Both the number of foreigners and the increase in the number were the largest since record-keeping began in 2013.
by Dapper-Material5930