Ryu Araki

Category: Demographics (Japan)

  • Japan lost 3.17 million residents in five years. It gained almost 1.5 million households.

    The final 2025 census, released on September 29, 2026, puts Japan’s population at 122,972,528, down 2.5% from 2020. Tokyo was the only prefecture to record population growth.

    Total households moved the other way: 57,324,619, up by 1,494,465.

    Among private households, excluding institutional households such as those in care facilities and school dormitories, average household size fell from 2.21 people to 2.10. One-person households reached 23.69 million, or 41.4% of private households.

    What fascinates me is how differently the same numbers can look depending on where you stand.

    For a landlord, more households could mean more potential tenants. For a business serving young children, a shrinking population could mean a tougher market.

    The same demographic shift can create opportunities for some and challenges for others.

    Statistics don’t tell us exactly what the future holds, but they give us clues about where the world is heading.

    That’s why I want to keep paying attention.

    Source:
    Statistics Bureau of Japan, final 2025 census
    https://lnkd.in/eTKmVgks

  • Japan Has 107,677 People Aged 100 or Older. In 1963, It Had 153.

    Japan crossed the 100,000 mark for the first time this September.

    I find that encouraging. As an investor and a parent, it also makes me question what we are planning for.

    Retire at 65 and live to 100. That is 35 years without a salary—potentially almost as long as your working life.

    Three questions follow.

    First, money. Does your retirement plan still work if you live longer than expected?

    Second, care. What happens if one spouse needs daily help while the other remains independent?

    Third, work. Would you want to stop working completely—or have the freedom to keep doing something meaningful?

    These figures do not tell us how long any individual will live. But they make a long retirement harder to dismiss.

    I would like to see my children celebrate my hundredth birthday without anyone having to worry about paying for my care.

    A longer life should be something we can afford to welcome.

    What needs the biggest rethink: how we save and invest, when we retire, or how we provide care?

    Source: MHLW, September 2026 centenarian survey.