Both in terms of year-on-year increase in population and the rate of increase,
figures for this year fell below the previous lows posted last year.
The number of births for fiscal 2004 stood at 1,104,062. The natural increase
in population, or the number of births minus the number of deaths, stood at
52,980 for the year. Both figures were the lowest since comparable surveys
began in fiscal 1979.
The ratio of people aged 65 or older to the total population stood at 19.72
percent, up 0.48 percentage point from a year earlier, posting a new record.
Meantime, the under-15s accounted for 13.91 percent of the total population,
down 0.12 percentage point, and the working-age population--those between 15
and 64--accounted for 66.37 percent, down 0.36 percentage point.
But the female population rose 0.09 percent, or 55,911, from a year earlier to
64,792,739.
The survey also found that 49.71 percent of Japan's total population lives in
the three major urban areas centering on Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.
The rate of population increase in these three areas was 0.3 percent.
Of Japan's 47 prefectures, Tokyo had the largest population, some 12 million,
followed by Osaka, Kanagawa, Aichi and Saitama.
Tottori had the smallest population, followed by Shimane, Kochi, Tokushima and
Fukui, the survey said.
The population fell in 35 prefectures. Among them, Gunma, Kyoto and Osaka
posted falls, following an increase in the previous year, while Mie had a
larger population despite a decline the previous year.
The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research predicts that
if the birthrate remains at the current rate, the total population will peak
next year and begin decreasing from 2007.
It had been forecast that the male population would decrease by about 8,000
from a year earlier as of Oct. 1. But the survey showed that the male
population had started declining six months earlier than predicted, and that
the difference between the estimation and the actual figure was larger than
expected. This led the institute to say the speed of the decline in the
population might be faster than first predicted.
According to the institute, the segment of the population aged between 20 and
34 will decrease by about 31 percent, or about 8 million, from 2000 to 2020,
causing a corresponding decline in production power.
In addition to a drop in the working population, a decrease in the savings rate
by households caused by an increasing number of aged people dipping into their
savings will slow economic growth.
This has led analysts to predict that in 2020, China will become the
second-largest country in terms of gross national product, with Japan slipping
to third place or lower.
The largest disparity in the value of one vote in a single-seat constituency in
the House of Representatives widened slightly from 2.149 to 2.168, according to
a test calculation by The Yomiuri Shimbun on the basis of figures of resident
registries as of March 31 released by the International Affairs and
Communications Ministry Wednesday.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
