Census shows 1st postwar population fall
Census shows 1st postwar population fallThe Yomiuri ShimbunIn yet more evidence that Japan's population has started to decline, October's national census found the population totaled slightly more than 127.75 million, down 19,000 from last year, the government said Tuesday. Barring 1945, the announcement marks the first time in the history of the national census, which was first conducted in 1920, in which the population has dropped. The population as of Oct. 1, according to the preliminary report based on the census provided by Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, was 127,756,815. The figure includes foreigners in Japan other than diplomats and military personnel. The final version of the national census is scheduled to be announced in October 2006. The previous census conducted on Oct. 1, 2000, determined the total population at 126,925,843. Since then, the government had not conducted a nationwide survey, but announced an estimated population as of Oct. 1 each year, which continued to see a slight increase until last year, when it peaked at 127,776,000. Last week, another survey by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry predicted that the number of deaths would exceed births in 2005 for the first time. Tuesday's figure from the national census reflects the change in population caused by migration on top of births and deaths. The two government surveys both challenge the estimation of the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, which said the population would peak in 2006 and start dropping the following year. The October census found the male population was 62,340,864, while the female population was 65,415,951. When compared with the result of the 2000 census, 15 prefectures including Tokyo saw an increase in population, while 32 others, including Hokkaido, had a decline. Reflecting the increase in single-person households, the number of households increased in every prefecture, setting a record high of 49,529,232. The number of people per household fell in all prefectures, with a national average of 2.58. A U.N. estimate, which reflected the 2000 Japanese census, ranked Japan ninth in the world in terms of total population. But Japan will have slipped to 10th place once the October census result is included, ranking after Nigeria, according to the government. In presenting the preliminary report to the Cabinet, Takenaka said he had concluded the nation's population was entering a state of decline. Officials at the ministry, meanwhile, noted that emigration exceeded immigration over the past year, contributing to the decrease in population along with the widened gap between the number of births and deaths. === Increase in foreign workers eyed Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura said Tuesday his ministry was setting up a project team to examine whether to remove restrictions on foreign workers to offset a decline in the workforce as the population falls. Senior Vice Justice Minister Taro Kono will head the team, which is expected to wrap up the study by the end of the fiscal year, Sugiura said. Currently, the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law permits foreigners to work in only 27 fields, including cultural activities and medical services. The government's basic policy on immigration control, which was announced in March, recommended studying an expansion in the number of fields in which foreign workers are allowed to work, an area the new ministry panel under Kono is likely to pursue. (Dec. 28, 2005)