Japanese city accused of inflating census as country's population shrinks

Japanese city accused of inflating census as country's population shrinks

Officials in Toyama have been accused of boosting its population count with 2,000 people who do not exist.

Japanese authorities are investigating city officials in the central region over allegations that they inflated population figures in the latest census.

Police searched Toyama city hall on Saturday after the central government submitted a criminal complaint accusing officials of falsely adding more than 2,000 people.

The census is used to determine funding from the central government. Based on a city estimate, Toyama may have received 60 million yen ($378,000; £285,000) more than it should have.

Japan is dealing with a falling population that is also aging quickly.

Last year, Japan’s total population declined in all 47 prefectures except two, and the pace of the drop is speeding up. About three in 10 residents are 65 or older.

According to Japan’s internal affairs ministry, Toyama’s real population last year was 399,197, down from the allegedly inflated figure of 402,133 released in May.

Early investigations indicate that officials involved falsely added more than 2,000 residents by changing the sizes of households census takers had originally recorded as empty.

Toyama Mayor Hirohisa Fujii said the city government would cooperate with the investigation, but denied that senior officials had given any instruction to inflate census numbers.

Under Japanese law, anyone convicted of falsifying statistics can be fined or jailed for up to six months.

Officials at Japan’s Statistics Bureau expressed outrage when news of the suspected violation first emerged last month.

Japan carries out its national census every five years.

The latest figures show the country’s population, including foreign residents, at nearly 123 million as of 1 October 2025, down 2.5%, or about 3.17 million, from 2020.