Japan’s Population Drops for 2nd Year

Tokyo, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s population decreased for the second straight year in fiscal 2006, while its concentration into booming urban areas accelerated to a record high, the Internal Affairs Ministry said Thursday.

The country’s population totaled 127,053,471 as of March 31, the final day of the fiscal year, down 1,554 from a year before. The male population came to 62,129,560, while the female population was at 64,923,911.

Japan saw 1,091,917 births during the year, up 26,384 from the record low posted in the previous year. The number of deaths increased 8,893 to 1,081,174.

Even though births outpaced the deaths, the nation’s population fell due mainly to move-outs overseas.

People aged 14 or younger accounted for 13.70 pct of the total population, down 0.1 percentage point, while those aged 65 or older accounted for 21.00 pct, up 0.7 point.

By region, the population in Japan’s three largest urban areas, in and around Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, totaled 63,539,362, or 50.01 pct of the country’s population, exceeding the 50 pct mark for the first time since the current statistical format was adopted in 1992.

In the greater Tokyo region, which includes the three surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama, the population increased 0.53 pct, or by 180,727 people. In Tokyo alone, the population increased 0.72 pct, or by 88,360 people, to 12,361,736, showing the steepest rise among the country’s 47 prefectures.

Of all prefectures, 10, including Aichi, Fukuoka, Hyogo and Okinawa, saw their populations increase, while the rest saw decline.END

(c) 2007 Jiji Press English News Service. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.