Population and Settlement

Total Population: 127,817,277 (2011)  

• Tokyo (Capital) : 36.507 million 
• Osaka-Kobe : 11.325 million 
• Nagoya : 3.257 million 
• Fukuoka-Kitakyushu : 2.809 million 
• Sapporo : 2.673 million 

Age Structure: 

0-14 years: 13.1% (Male 8,521,571 / Female 8,076,173)
15-64 years: 64% (Male 40,815,840 / Female 40,128,235)
65 years and over: 22.9% (Male 12,275,829 / Female 16,658,016)

Median Age:

Total: 44.8 years
Male: 43.2 years
Female: 46.7 years (2011)

Population Density: 

336 people per square kilometer (2010) 

Settlements Patterns

Japanese Town

Due to the space limitations, many of Japanese cities are characterized by dense settlement patterns. In the major urban areas, the amount of available living space is highly restricted for all but the most affluent families. 

Apartment in Tokyo

In Tokyo, an apartment the size of a large U.S. living room often shelters an entire middle-class family. 

Japanese Urban Farm

In addition, most of Japanese cities are located in the same lowlands that support the country's agriculture. Therefore, Japanese landscape often combine dense urban settlement with small patches of intensively farmed agriculture.