Population Trends in Japan

Abstract

IT HAS BEEN customary in certain quarters to regard Japan's recent imperialistic policy of territorial expansion as an inevitable consequence of rapid population growth. In I940, the population of Japan proper reached a total of 73,114,000 which is approximately double its population as of i88o. While such a large increase no doubt brought in its train serious economic and international problems, Japan's rate of growth was by no means unprecedented, for it lagged considerably behind rates attained in other countries during earlier decades. It required 6o years for Japan to double its population, whereas the United States, during its period of most rapid growth immediately following the Civil War, accomplished this in about half that number of years. The population of the United States increased more than I2 times during the i9th century and during this same period the population of Java increased approximately io times. In England and Wales, during the 6o year period between i8I i and i871, the population increased I25 percent.1 During the first three quarters of the i9th century, when many countries throughout the world were rapidly increasing their numbers, Japan had a practically stationary population. Japan's population, as a matter of fact, had failed to expand since the beginning of the I 7th century. Its population of approximately 30 millions, which remained at about that level throughout the 250 years of the Tokugawa regime, seems to have been the maximum that could survive under economic conditions prevailing at that time. With removal of feudalistic restrictions upon freedom of movement and occupation at the opening of the modern era, and new emphasis upon scientific agriculture, foreign trade, and industrialization, new impetus was given to population growth. Governmental