What is the population of Japan?

According to Japanese government statistics, in 1998, Japan had a population of approximately 126,486,000 people, ranking 8th in the world. It is one of the 10 countries in the world with a population of more than 100 million. The population density per square meter There are an average of 339.3 people per kilometer (in 1998), making it a country with a relatively high population density.

(1) Characteristics of regional population distribution

a) Among various prefectures The population density varies greatly between regions.

For example, according to the national survey conducted by the Japanese government in 1995, the population density of Hokkaido is only 73 people per square kilometer, while the population density of Tokyo is as high as 5384 people per square kilometer. people.

b) The population has a high degree of urbanization.

Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan’s urban population has almost been increasing. By 1975, after the completion of rapid economic growth, , Japan's urban population has reached 84.967 million, accounting for 75.9% of the total population; the rural population, that is, the population of towns and villages, is 26.972 million, accounting for approximately 24.1%. By 1995, the urban population reached 98.007 million, accounting for 75.9% of the total population. The rural population accounts for 78.05%; while the rural population only accounts for 21.95%.

c) Half of the population is concentrated in the three major urban areas

According to the national conditions survey conducted by the Japanese government in 1985, 1.21 of the country’s population Among the population of 100 million, the population of Tokyo and its surrounding counties, the so-called "Tokyo area", is 30.27 million, accounting for 25% of the total population; the Osaka area is 16.53 million, accounting for 13.7% of the country; the Nagoya area is 13.81 million, accounting for 11.4%. The three combined account for more than half of the total population. In the 1990s, preventing "Tokyo's one-pole concentration" became a topic of heated discussion in the media.

(2) Age structure - aging, low birthrate

In recent years, the age structure of the Japanese population has two main characteristics, namely aging and low birthrate.

Japan is already the country with the longest average life expectancy in the world. By 2001 , the average life span of Japanese men has reached 78.07 years, and that of women has reached 84.93 years, both among the best in the world. The extension of the average life span means a reduction in mortality. A reduction in population mortality will inevitably further promote the aging of the population.

At present, Japan, like most countries in the world, sets the proportion of the population over 65 years old in the total population, that is, the elderly population coefficient exceeds 7%, as the standard for entering an aging society. Japan began to enter the aging society in 1970 Social. In that year, Japan's population over 65 years old reached 7.39 million, and the elderly population coefficient was 7.1%. In 1998, it reached 16.4%. Japan's population aging rate is also among the highest in the world.

The decline in the birth rate is another important factor driving the aging of the population. In 1947, Japan’s first post-war baby boom, Japan’s birth rate once reached 3.43%, but after 1990 it dropped to less than 1.0%. The birth rate The decline not only promotes the progress of aging, but also directly leads to the emergence of another demographic phenomenon-"low birthrate".

The so-called "low birthrate" refers to the decrease in the number of children caused by the decline in birth rate phenomenon. Another commonly used indicator used to express "low birthrate" is the total birth rate, which refers to the number of children a woman gives birth to in her lifetime. This indicator has also declined significantly in recent years, reaching 1.43 in 1996 and falling again in 1998. dropped to 1.38, which shows that young couples in Japan are no longer willing to have more children or even have no children at all. If this trend continues, Japan's total population will begin to turn negative by 2010, and will drop to 67.366 million by 2100, that is It is only equivalent to slightly more than half of the population in 1998. Regarding this, the Japanese government and opposition parties are quite worried.