Japan records nearly 1 million more deaths than births in 2024 as country’s natality continues to plummet

Japan saw nearly 1 million more deaths than births in 2024, marking the country’s steepest single-year population decline since the government surveys began nearly six decades ago.

In 2009, Japan’s population peaked at around 126.6 million, but has dropped steadily ever since, according to data published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on Wednesday.

Last year, two records were set: a low for births, and a high for deaths.

Just 687,689 births were recorded in 2024, the lowest since the government first started keeping track in 1968. On the other end, a whopping 1.6 million people died, bringing the total population to 120 million, according to the data.

The ever-growing natality crisis pushed the Japanese government to promote family-oriented policies including free childcare, expanded access to healthcare and shorter work weeks to in part help free up time for procreation.

Even with the mass incentives, the birth rate continues to drop while more foreign residents seek to make Japan their new home.

In 2024 alone, the number of foreigners living in Japan rose by 10% to a high of 3.6 million people, according to the data.

The heightened presence of foreign residents combined with the shrinking natality spurred increased reports of xenophobia, racism and discrimination against newcomers.

The cycle in part is also worsened by Japan’s elderly, who make up around 30% of the entire population, on top of the country’s slim pool of youth and childbearing adults, according to the data.

Japan’s working-age population, falling between 16 and 64 years old, only makes up 59% of the population — a whole six points lower than the global average, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Between 2023 and 2060, the OECD estimates that the working-age population will dwindle by 31%.

Regardless of how many patches the Japanese government tries to propose, there’s no overnight fix to birth rates and it will take additional decades for the population to bounce back.

The government concluded that immigration may be their only solution.

Models proposed by the Japanese government last updated in 2023 estimate the nationwide population will drop by 30% by 2070, but “is expected to slow down slightly, mainly due to the increase in international migration.”

In 2020, Japan announced its plans to fund artificial intelligence matchmaking systems to help hitch singles looking for love to hasten engagements and patch the sinking birth rate.