Japan's population falls while foreign residents rise to record

the number of Japanese residents has declined at the fastest rate ever, while the number of foreign residents has increased by nearly 3 million.

Japan’s population is aging across the country and that foreign nationals are playing an ever-larger role in making up for the shrinking population.

the number of Japanese citizens fell for the 14th year, a decrease of about 800,000 people to 122.42 million.

The figures show that, for the first time, the number of Japanese residents has declined in all 47 prefectures.

the number of foreign nationals living in Japan was a record 2.99 million, a 10.7 percent increase from the previous year, since the ministry began tracking the data a decade ago.

As of January 1, 2020, just before the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 2.87 million foreigners living in Japan.

“To secure a stable workforce, the government will promote labor market reforms to provide more employment for women, the elderly and others,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said in a statement.