Japan's 'Sex Recession' Deepens as Population Hits Five-Year Low

Japan’s ‘sex recession’ is worsening. The population has fallen by 2.5% over five years. Preliminary results from Japan’s five-yearly census show the population dropping to 123 million in 2025, over three million fewer than the 2020 survey. This represents the largest decline since censuses were conducted twice a decade starting in 1920, more than triple the drop between 2015 and 2020. ‘The data once again confirms Japan’s deepening population decline,’ government spokesperson Minoru Kihara told AFP on Friday (29 May 2026). Japan has one of the world’s lowest birth rates and an ageing population. Although immigration is often proposed as a solution to Japan’s demographic decline, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is pushing for stricter measures on foreign nationals. Official data shows Japan’s births fell for the tenth consecutive year in 2025, with 705,809 babies born. Central and local government officials have attempted, with limited success, to encourage marriage and childbirth through initiatives such as dating apps, increased childcare allowances, and parental leave subsidies.