Japan's One-Quarter of Municipalities See Population Decline Over 10% in 5 Years, up to 34%

According to Japan's 2025 Census reported by Japanese media on July 12, approximately one-fourth of Japan's municipalities experienced population declines exceeding 10% compared to 2020, with the steepest drop reaching 34%. Japan's Kyodo News analyzed population changes across 1,892 municipalities, finding 477 with declines over 10%—nearly double the 247 municipalities recorded in the 2015-2020 period.

Japan's northeastern prefectures of Iwate and Akita, along with the western Kochi Prefecture, have seen over half of their municipalities facing significant population decline.