According to a preliminary report of Japan's October 2005 national census, the population of Japan totaled 127,756,815, down 19,000 from 2004. The final version will be released in October 2006.

Apart from 1945, this is the first time the population had declined since the census began in 1920. The last census was in October 2000, but estimated figures put the population peak at 127,776,000 last year.

The report confirms data previously released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Breakdown

The total population figures include a breakdown as follows:

• Male population - 62,340,864
• Female population- 65,415,951
• Number of households - 49,529,232, a record high reflecting the increase in single-person households

The latest total population figure now puts Japan as the tenth most-populous country.

Foreign workers

The Justice Minister announced that the ministry would examine whether to remove restrictions on foreign workers as a way to counter the population decline. Up until now, Japan has tightly controlled foreign labor inflows.