Japanese Population Falls While Foreign Residents Rise, but Only 92 Municipalities Saw Overall Population Growth, Government Data Shows
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Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released population, demographic, and household survey results based on the basic resident registry on July 29, 2026. According to an analysis published by Toyo Keizai Online, more than 1,400 municipalities nationwide saw their Japanese resident population decline while their foreign resident population increased over the year from January 1, 2025 to January 1, 2026. Municipalities with the largest increases include Kobe City, Tokyo's Edogawa Ward, Chiba City, Shinjuku Ward, Matsudo City, Katsushika Ward, Higashiosaka City, Nakano Ward, Toshima Ward, Kawaguchi City, and Kyoto City.
However, a decline in the Japanese population alongside a rise in foreign residents does not necessarily mean a municipality's total population grew. The analysis found that, of the 1,436 municipalities meeting that pattern, only 92 saw the increase in foreign residents outweigh the decrease in Japanese residents enough to produce actual overall population growth; in the remaining 1,342 municipalities, total population declined despite the rise in foreign residents.
Current status: A detailed breakdown of the increase in foreign residents by residency status or nationality, and its effects on municipal finances and public services, were not addressed in detail as of this writing. The same Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications survey also found that the number of foreign residents reached a record high of 4,031,159 (related coverage). This article will be updated as further details emerge.
Editorial Perspective
The Technical Intern Training Program is set to be replaced by the new Employment for Skill Development system in April 2027 (related article), and developments like this one can be seen as part of the institutional design process during that transition. Expanding acceptance also requires resolving practical issues such as broker problems in sending countries and building proper oversight systems among accepting employers. For the new system to work as intended rather than merely on paper, it will be important to continue examining how it actually operates once implemented.