NEWS

Population Decline in Japan – How So?

population decline in japan

It is a known fact that population decline in Japan is a national issue – the number has peaked out in 2008 and it has been downward trend ever since. From a property investor’s perspective, this fact is a “big figure” and it doesn’t mean much – the number that needs to be focused is more in a smaller region – say, in a prefecture level. Nikkei Shimbun Newspaper analyzed population data (as of October 2014) from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The finding – 40/47 prefectures experienced decline in their populations.

Who are the winners – the gist, the Tokyo metropolitan region. Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures (Saitama, Kanagawa, and Chiba) all experienced hike. Aichi (Nagoya) and Fukuoka (Hakata) performed well too. Okinawa is known for its high birth rate (despite the fact that its economy has consistent issues…)

Related: Trend Watch: Tokyo’s Housing Market and Population Rise

From a domestic population’s perspective, the Tokyo region is still a legitimate place to invest.

Population, as of October 2014 (Relative to October 2013)

RED = DECLINE

RANK PREFECTURE POPULATION RANK PREFECTURE POPULATION
National Average 0.17 24 Nara 0.54
1 Tokyo 0.68 25 Fukushima 0.55
2 Okinawa 0.40 Saga 0.55
3 Saitama 0.23 27 Hokkaido 0.56
4 Kanagawa 0.19 28 Nagano 0.57
5 Aichi 0.17 Miyazaki 0.57 
6 Chiba 0.08 30 Toyama 0.58
7 Fukuoka 0.03 31 Fukui 0.63
8 Miyagi 0.00 Oita 0.63
9 Shiga 0.03 33 Tottori 0.64
10 Osaka 0.15 34 Ehime 0.69
11 Hiroshima 0.23 35 Kagoshima 0.70
12 Tochigi 0.29 36 Yamanashi 0.72
Kyoto 0.29 37 Nigata 0.74
14 Hyogo 0.30 Nagasaki 0.74
15 Okayama 0.31 39 Tokushima 0.76
16 Ishikawa 0.32 40 Iwate 0.78
17 Gunma 0.38 Shimane 0.78
18 Kumamoto 0.39 42 Yamaguchi 0.80
19 Ibaraki 0.43 43 Wakayama 0.85
Mie 0.43 44 Yamagata 0.92
21 Kagawa 0.45 45 Kochi 0.96
22 Shizuoka 0.47 46 Aomori 1.08
23 Gifu 0.50 47 Akita 1.26

Related: Non-Japanese Population in Tokyo on Rise Steadily