Japan census: Population down nearly 1-million since 2010

AFP/YOSHIKAZU TSUNO

TOKYO — It’s official. Japan’s population is shrinking.

The results of the 2015 census released Friday show the population shrank by 947,000 people in the last five years, the first decline since the count started in 1920.

Japan’s population stood at 127.1 million last fall, down 0.7 percent from 128.1 million in 2010. The census is taken every five years.

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The government is worried because projections show the population decline could accelerate in coming decades.

The census found that the population of Tokyo has grown 2.7 percent since 2010 to 13.5 million.

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