TOKYO: Japan’s population fell 595,000 from a year earlier to total 124,352,000 as of Oct 1, declining for the 13th consecutive year, government data showed Friday, as reported by Kyodo news agency.

The population of Japanese nationals fell 837,000 in 2023 from a year earlier to 121,193,000, marking the largest drop since comparable data became available in 1950, according to a demographic survey by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.

Foreign workers and students who had been in Japan for three months or longer were counted in the overall population figure, according to the ministry.-Bernama