Japan - Population stat positive, but via foreigner influx

Japan's population stood at 128,057,352 as of Oct. 1, 2010, up only 0.2 percent from the last census in 2005 and marking the slowest growth on record, the internal affairs ministry said.

If non-Japanese residents are excluded, the population decreased by about 371,000, or 0.3 percent, the first decline since the census in 1975 started counting the Japanese population separately from foreign residents, the ministry said Wednesday.

The number of foreign residents rose by 93,000, or 5.9 percent, since the previous census.

"While Japan has entered an era of declining population, the total has remained flat because the number of foreign nationals has increased," a ministry official said.

The male population stood at 62,327,737, while the female population came to 65,729,615, the census showed.

The census, which is carried out every five years, was first compiled in 1920.

Those aged 65 or above numbered about 29.246 million, accounting for 23.0 percent of the total population, up from 20.2 percent in the last census. The rate at which Japan is aging remained among the highest in the world.

In contrast, those aged 15 or younger accounted for 13.2 percent of the population, down 0.6 percentage point, confirming that the number of the nation's young is shrinking.

Japan remains the 10th most populous nation and accounts for 1.9 percent of the global population, according to U.N. estimates for 2010.

The number of households climbed to 51,950,504, up 4.8 percent from 2005 and topping the 50 million mark for the first time. But the average number of members per household hit a record low of 2.42. Single-member households stood at around 16.785 million, accounting for more than 30 percent of the total for the first time.

Kyodo

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