Tokyo, Feb 26 (IANS) A latest census report issued on Friday showed that Japan's population decreased by almost a million over a five-year period.
The report issued by the internal affairs ministry said Japan's population was 127.11 million as of October 1, 2015 -- a fall of around 947,000 from the 2010 census, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Ministry officials said natural population reduction -- the number of deaths surpassing that of births --- eclipsed population growth driven by such social factors as an increase in foreign residents.
They declared that the country's population is now in a declining trend.
Tokyo, Aichi, Saitama were among eight prefectures to see a population increase.
The remaining 39 posted a decline, including Osaka, where the headcount fell for the first time in decades.
Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima --- three prefectures severely affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami --- experienced a decline. Fukushima saw the largest drop of 115,000.
