Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Tokyo, Japan metro area from 1950 to 2025.

The statistic shows the population of the Greater Tokyo Area from 1950 to 2015, with a projection up to 2030. In 2015, the population of the Greater Tokyo Area stood at about 37.3 million and was estimated to maintain that level until 2020.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Osaka, Japan metro area from 1950 to 2025.

In 1800, the population of Japan was just over 30 million, a figure which would grow by just two million in the first half of the 19th century. However, with the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of the emperor in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan would begin transforming from an isolated feudal island, to a modernized empire built on Western models. The Meiji period would see a rapid rise in the population of Japan, as industrialization and advancements in healthcare lead to a significant reduction in child mortality rates, while the creation overseas colonies would lead to a strong economic boom. However, this growth would slow beginning in 1937, as Japan entered a prolonged war with the Republic of China, which later grew into a major theater of the Second World War. The war was eventually brought to Japan's home front, with the escalation of Allied air raids on Japanese urban centers from 1944 onwards (Tokyo was the most-bombed city of the Second World War). By the war's end in 1945 and the subsequent occupation of the island by the Allied military, Japan had suffered over two and a half million military fatalities, and over one million civilian deaths.

The population figures of Japan were quick to recover, as the post-war “economic miracle” would see an unprecedented expansion of the Japanese economy, and would lead to the country becoming one of the first fully industrialized nations in East Asia. As living standards rose, the population of Japan would increase from 77 million in 1945, to over 127 million by the end of the century. However, growth would begin to slow in the late 1980s, as birth rates and migration rates fell, and Japan eventually grew to have one of the oldest populations in the world. The population would peak in 2008 at just over 128 million, but has consistently fallen each year since then, as the fertility rate of the country remains below replacement level (despite government initiatives to counter this) and the country's immigrant population remains relatively stable. The population of Japan is expected to continue its decline in the coming years, and in 2020, it is estimated that approximately 126 million people inhabit the island country.

In 2024, about 93.7 percent of men aged 45 to 54 years in Tokyo Prefecture in Japan were employed. The employment rate of men aged 65 years and older declined to 35.2 percent.

In 2023, the total population in Japan's capital Tokyo Prefecture amounted to approximately **** million inhabitants. Tokyo's population rebounded after it declined for the first time post-WWII in ****.

With approximately 9.57 million inhabitants, Tokyo was Japan's most populous city as of 2023, followed by Yokohama, which, in the same year, counted about 3.75 million inhabitants. In total, there were twelve cities with a population of over one million people in Japan.

In 2023, approximately *** million people within the age group of 15 to 64 years were counted in Tokyo Prefecture, an increase from about *** million people recorded in 2020. Over *** million inhabitants in the metropolis were aged 65 years and older.

Tama City(Tama Shi)'s Population (100 and over, total) is 71person which is the 255th highest in Japan (by City). It also ranks 33rd in Tokyo Prefecture, with 1.09% share of the entire Tokyo. Transition Graphs and Comparison chart between Tama City and Ashikaga City(Tochigi) and Yonago City(Tottori)(Closest City in Population) are available. Various data can be downloaded and output in csv format for use in EXCEL free of charge.

Odate City(Odate Shi)'s Percentage distribution of total population (65 and over) is 39.27% which is the 509th highest in Japan (by City). It also ranks 17th in Akita Prefecture. Transition Graphs and Comparison chart between Odate City and Yoshikawa City(Saitama) and Musashimurayama City(Tokyo)(Closest City in Population) are available. Various data can be downloaded and output in csv format for use in EXCEL free of charge.

Urban population (% of total population) in Japan was reported at 92.04 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Urban population (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

The population of Tokyo City amounted to approximately 9.57 million people in 2023. Sapporo, the largest city on the northern Japanese island Hokkaido, came in fifth with around 1.96 million inhabitants in the same year.

As of the fourth quarter of 2023, the rent for stores in Japan was the highest in Tokyo and Yokohama, amounting to around 35.8 thousand Japanese yen per tsubo. The cities of Tokyo and Yokohama are part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, which is home to one-third of the population in Japan.

Yamato City(Yamato Shi)'s (Population census) No. of employees (Part-time employees and others) is 29,503person which is the 105th highest in Japan (by City). It also ranks 9th in Kanagawa Prefecture, with 2.74% share of the entire Kanagawa. Transition Graphs and Comparison chart between Yamato City and Matsumoto City(Nagano) and Chofu City(Tokyo)(Closest City in Population) are available. Various data can be downloaded and output in csv format for use in EXCEL free of charge.

As of 2025, Tokyo-Yokohama in Japan was the largest world urban agglomeration, with 37 million people living there. Delhi ranked second with more than 34 million, with Shanghai in third with more than 30 million inhabitants.

Hamamatsu was the largest major city in Japan based on city area in 2024, with a size of close to 1.56 thousand square kilometers. It was followed by Shizuoka, with a size of more than 1.41 square kilometers. Overconcentration in Tokyo Economic, political, and financial activity in Japan is heavily concentrated in Tokyo. With around 37.8 million inhabitants, the metropolitan area of Tokyo is the largest urban conglomeration in the world. Most of Japan’s largest companies have their headquarters in Tokyo, and the region attracts many young people who move there to study or work. A breakdown of the net migration flow in Japan showed that the prefectures of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba, all part of the Tokyo metropolitan area, attract the largest number of people. In contrast, the majority of prefectures, especially those located in rural parts of the country, lose a substantial part of their population every year. Demographic trend in rural regions The overconcentration of economic activity in Tokyo has an impact on the demographic situation in rural parts of the country. Japan’s population is shrinking and aging, and rural regions are particularly affected by this. Many young people leave their rural hometowns to seek better opportunities in urban parts of Japan, leaving behind an aging population. As a result, many rural communities in Japan struggle with depopulation and a notable share of municipalities are even threatened with disappearance in the coming decades.

Sayama City(Sayama Shi)'s (Population census) No. of employees (Part-time employees and others) is 20,359person which is the 158th highest in Japan (by City). It also ranks 13th in Saitama Prefecture, with 2.21% share of the entire Saitama. Transition Graphs and Comparison chart between Sayama City and Kariya City(Aichi) and Higashimurayama City(Tokyo)(Closest City in Population) are available. Various data can be downloaded and output in csv format for use in EXCEL free of charge.

Urban Population: Old City, Rural Population: New City, Rural Population: New Rural, Rural Population: Total

Ashikaga City(Ashikaga Shi)'s (Population census) No. of employees (Part-time employees and others) is 19,057person which is the 167th highest in Japan (by City). It also ranks 4th in Tochigi Prefecture, with 8.15% share of the entire Tochigi. Transition Graphs and Comparison chart between Ashikaga City and Higashimurayama City(Tokyo) and Tama City(Tokyo)(Closest City in Population) are available. Various data can be downloaded and output in csv format for use in EXCEL free of charge.

In 2023, there were close to 12.6 million people aged 15 years and older in Tokyo Prefecture, of which about 51 percent were women. The population aged 15 years and older in the prefecture decreased in 2021 for the first time in the last decade.