According to Nikkei Asia, latest census data shows that in nearly all prefectures in Japan, the number of elderly residents exceeds that of children. This is another sign of the increasing aging population in the country.
In 2025, among Japan's 47 prefectures, 46 regions will have a proportion of people aged 75 and above higher than that of people under 15 years of age. Okinawa Prefecture is the only exception.
Compared to the last population census in 2020, the proportion of children in all prefectures, including Okinawa, has decreased. Nationally, the proportion of children in the total population was 10.9%, which is a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from 2020, setting a new historical low. The next population census in 2030 may see this proportion fall below 10%.
Meanwhile, the elderly population accounted for 17.2% of the total population, which is an increase of 2.5 percentage points compared to 2020.
The total number of people aged 65 and above surpassed that of children for the first time in the year 2000; the number of people aged 75 and above surpassed that of children in the year 2015.
In the short term, it is difficult to reverse Japan's low birth rate.
Since the proportion of non-marital births in Japan is very low, the marriage and romantic relationships of young people have become an important indicator for observing population trends. In 2025, the proportion of unmarried men will be 36.3%, and that of unmarried women will be 26.4%. Compared to five years ago, these figures have increased by 1.7 percentage points for men and 1.5 percentage points for women.
The phenomenon of late marriage is becoming increasingly common. In terms of the proportion of married people, men first exceed the number of unmarried individuals in the age group of 35–39 years old; for women, this transition occurs in the age group of 30–34 years old. In 1995, the corresponding age range for men was 30–34 years old, and for women, it was 25–29 years old.
