Japan's foreign resident population exceeds 3 million for first time

TOKYO -- Japan now has more than 3 million foreign residents for the first time, making up 2.66% of the total population, according to government data released on Wednesday.

The same statistics showed that the number of Japanese citizens fell last year in all prefectures except Tokyo. That comes as Japan's aging population logged a record-low fertility rate of 1.2 children per woman for 2023, according to separate data released last month, piling pressure on the government to attract more foreign labor to sustain the economy.