Could Tokyo's Declining Population be a Much Needed Change?

Japan’s population totaled 125,502,000 as of Oct. 1, down 644,000 from a year earlier to mark the biggest decline on record in the rapidly graying nation, government data showed Friday. The population dipped for the 11th consecutive year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

According to the ministry, the overall population fell as deaths exceeded births by 609,000 and as people who moved out of the country outnumbered those who moved in by 35,000. Japan saw its natural population decline accelerate by over 100,000 and logged its first population outflow in nine years amid entry restrictions on foreign residents due to COVID-19.

Tokyo’s population shrank for the first time in 26 years, falling by 38,000 to 14.01 million, while all 47 prefectures except Okinawa posted a fall. Prefectures that had seen population growth in recent years saw their populations fall, including Chiba, Fukuoka, Kanagawa and Saitama.

The rate of population decline expanded in 33 prefectures, led by Osaka, which posted a drop of 0.36%, 0.31 percentage points faster than in the previous year. The pandemic and the subsequent rise in the number of people working remotely are believed to have discouraged people from moving to Tokyo and encouraged residents in the capital to move out to other parts of the country, people familiar with the matter said.

The ministry data also showed that the proportion of people age 15 to 64 stood at a record low of 59.4% while that of those age 65 or older hit a record high of 28.9%. People age 14 or younger accounted for a record-low 11.8%. The number of foreign nationals living in Japan fell by 25,000 to 2,722,000 in part due to the tighter border restrictions.

(Source: The Japan Times | Pic: Old Man Near Tulips, Aaron Shumaker)

Related Articles

General, Investors/Business
Information, News
Japan's Justice Ministry is testing AI to translate Japanese laws into English, addressing rising global and local demand for English legal references in investments. Presently, manual translations by officials take about 2.5 years due to varied abilities and additional duties. The AI introduction aims to reduce this to a year, potentially streamlining the process significantly. Full AI integration is targeted for April if the trial succeeds. Justice Minister Koizumi Ryuji anticipates AI enhancing the prolonged translation process.
Investors/Business, General
Information, News
The rate of offices standing empty in central Tokyo in November dropped for the first time since the pandemic began, an early signal that the worst could be over for the capital’s property market. Vacancies fell by 0.12 percentage points to 6.35% in Tokyo’s five main business districts, real estate brokerage Miki Shoji Co. said on Thursday. Since hitting 1.49% in February 2020, the lowest since the country’s economic bubble burst in the early 1990s, vacancies have surged.
General, Investors/Business
News
A new wave of big private equity players is moving in on Japan's property market, drawn by attractive yield spreads with Japan's low interest rates and by prospective deals with companies that hold under-utilized assets. "The Japanese market presents a huge opportunity," David Cheong, managing director at KKR, told Reuters. He noted wide scope to help corporations bolster their property-related operations and boost returns on property assets. "Investment demand is strong but the number of properties for sale is relatively limited..."
General
Information, News
Many Japanese abodes in 2021 are returning to the roots of traditional residences and adding an earthen floor entryway or incorporating modern variants of the space. Japanese homes already have a small "genkan" entrance area for people to store their shoes before going inside. Now, more apartment buyers are asking for a larger “doma” traditional earthen-floored space, in which they can walk around while wearing footwear and store items for outdoor use. The demand for doma appears to be related to the boom in people engaging in more outdoor leisure activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic and increased consumer desire to maintain cleanliness in the home by separating spaces.