TOKYO - People aged 65 and over account for a record-high 29.4 percent of Japan's population, the finalized 2025 census results showed Tuesday, 0.9 percentage point higher than in the previous survey in 2020 and underscoring the rapidly graying society.
The population of Japan, including foreign residents, fell by 3.17 million, or 2.5 percent, to 122,972,528 as of Oct. 1 last year. The latest census data comes amid questions over the credibility of what the government views as "the most important statistics," after a city in central Japan faced allegations of overstating its population by several thousand.
As in the preliminary results, the census data showed that the total population declined for the third straight survey and that 30.1 percent of the population was concentrated in the Tokyo metropolitan area, crossing the 30 percent threshold for the first time.
The number of foreign residents continued to increase, hitting a record 3,840,039, up 1,093,525, or 39.8 percent, from 2020, with increases in Vietnamese and Nepalese residents among those contributing to the rise.
As for the population aged 65 and above, such residents accounted for 40.0 percent of Akita Prefecture's population in northeastern Japan, up 2.5 percentage points from 2020 and the highest ratio among Japan's 47 prefectures for the fourth consecutive survey since 2010.
Kochi in western Japan followed at 36.9 percent and Aomori in northeastern Japan at 36.3 percent. The lowest was Tokyo at 22.8 percent.
The census, which started in 1920, has been conducted every five years and has served as a fundamental source of data for the central and local governments in formulating measures to address the falling birthrate and promote industrial development. The data are also used for purposes such as drawing boundaries for House of Representatives single-seat constituencies.
The reliability of the latest census has come under scrutiny, however, as the city of Toyama is suspected to have overreported its population by at least 2,000 people in the 2025 census, according to the internal affairs ministry.
The padding was allegedly conducted by rewriting survey sheets and likely involved multiple city officials, the ministry said. They are suspected of deciding, without any specific evidence, not to treat census takers' reports of no signs of habitation at properties as indicating that no household was present.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on Tuesday filed a complaint with Toyama police against an unidentified city official for allegedly violating the Statistics Act in connection with the overreporting. It is the first time that the ministry has taken such action in connection with a census.
In the census data announced Tuesday, the city's population stood at 399,197, which was 2,936 fewer than the preliminary figure announced in May.
Officials at the internal ministry's Statistics Bureau visited Toyama in September three times after doubts emerged over the figure.
