Japan Immigration News

Japan’s baby boom among foreign-born population spotlights demographic timebomb

Release Date
2025-10-15
Media
The Guardian
Summary
In 2024, Japan saw a record 22,000 babies born to foreign parents—a 50% increase over a decade—while births among Japanese parents declined to 686,000, highlighting the ongoing failure to boost native fertility. The country’s foreign population is nearing 4 million (3.2%), with immigrants filling roles in agriculture, manufacturing, services, and depopulated rural areas.

Politically, right-wing party Sanseito has leveraged anti-immigrant rhetoric to gain influence, pushing all major parties, including the LDP, to focus on controlling migration and integration, sometimes feeding xenophobia. Localized protests against foreign workers and misinformation campaigns have also emerged.

Despite political tensions, economic necessity is likely to drive further migration, with projections suggesting foreigners could make up over 10% of Japan’s population within 15 years. Business leaders widely support this influx as essential to sustaining labor-intensive industries, though politicians continue to avoid confronting the trade-off between economic survival and social integration.
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Immigration Policy

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2024-11-23
Immigration Policy, Specified Skilled Worker