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Population decreased by 259,000 last year
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Japan's population totaled an estimated 127.79 million as of last Oct. 1, a decrease of 259,000, or 0.2 percent, from a year earlier, government data showed April 17.
The year-on-year fall was the largest since 1950, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said.
Of the total, Japanese nationals stood at 126.18 million, down 0.16 percent.
The population of Fukushima Prefecture, hit hard by the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, decreased as much as 1.93 percent, to 1,990,000. It was the steepest decline on record for any prefecture.
Of the nation's population, people 65 or older accounted for 23.3 percent of the total, up 0.3 percentage point and hitting an all-time high. This percentage remained the highest in the world, exceeding Germany's 20.6 percent and Italy's 20.3 percent. (Kyodo News)
総人口、過去最大の25万9000人減
総務省の発表した推計人口によると、総人口は前年比25万9000人減の1億2779万9,000人となり、1950年以降で最大の下げ幅を記録した。
Shukan ST: APRIL 27, 2012
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