Takaichi Flags Japan’s Shrinking Population as a ‘National Crisis’

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that the decline in Japan's population is a "quietly advancing national crisis" in a policy speech on Monday.

New census data over the past week showed Japan’s population shrank more quickly than in the prior tally. Also last week, the government rolled out tougher rules for foreign nationals who want to live in Japan.

While foreigners make up just 3.4% of Japan’s population, the share



has increased to a record high and a political backlash has been building—even as the country also grapples with rapidly aging demographics and the need to find new workers to sustain economic growth.

On Tuesday, the latest five-year population survey detailed how stark Japan’s situation is. As of October 2025, the total population, including foreign residents, was 22.9 million, down 2.5% from five years earlier. The prior census in 2020 showed a dip of 0.7%.