Japan's 2025 Prefecture Population Rankings Are Out – Tokyo Towers Over Everyone, While Tottori Is Just 4% of Tokyo's Size

Japan's latest population figures are in, and they paint a very clear picture: People are still flocking to big cities while many rural areas are becoming smaller. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the total population of the country is about 120.3 million. Tokyo easily tops the list with 13.46 million people, while Tottori Prefecture is at the bottom with only 525,000 people, just 4% the size of Tokyo.

Here are the full 2025 rankings for all 47 provinces, as well as a quick look at special wards and key named cities.

2025 Japan Prefecture Population Ranking (Top to Bottom)

Prefecture	Population (in 10,000s)	Men (in 10,000s)	Women (in 10,000s)
1. Tokyo	1,346.30	659.90	686.40
2. Kanagawa	894.10	443.00	451.20
3. Osaka	845.30	403.20	442.10
4. Aichi	716.00	356.50	359.50
5. Saitama	708.30	350.90	357.40
6. Chiba	605.70	299.80	305.90
7. Hyogo	520.40	246.80	273.70
8. Fukuoka	498.90	235.90	263.00
9. Hokkaido	498.00	235.10	262.90
10. Shizuoka	341.10	168.20	172.90
11. Ibaraki	271.60	135.50	136.20
12. Hiroshima	265.50	128.60	136.90
13. Kyoto	244.10	116.20	127.90
14. Miyagi	221.90	108.20	113.70
15. Niigata	207.80	101.10	106.60
16. Nagano	194.50	95.30	99.20
17. Gifu	184.60	89.60	95.00
18. Tochigi	183.00	91.40	91.60
19. Gunma	181.10	89.40	91.70
20. Okayama	179.50	86.30	93.20
21. Fukushima	172.40	85.30	87.20
22. Kumamoto	166.90	79.30	87.70
23. Mie	164.90	80.40	84.50
24. Kagoshima	151.30	71.70	79.60
25. Okinawa	143.70	70.50	73.20
26. Shiga	136.00	66.90	69.10
27. Nara	126.70	59.50	67.20
28. Yamaguchi	126.00	59.90	66.10
29. Ehime	125.90	59.70	66.10
30. Nagasaki	123.70	58.30	65.40
31. Aomori	115.70	54.60	61.10
32. Iwate	113.40	54.80	58.60
33. Ishikawa	107.90	52.30	55.60
34. Oita	106.60	50.70	55.90
35. Miyazaki	102.10	48.30	53.80
36. Yamagata	100.10	48.70	51.40
37. Toyama	97.40	47.40	50.00
38. Kagawa	89.90	43.40	46.50
39. Akita	89.10	42.20	46.90
40. Wakayama	87.10	41.10	46.00
41. Saga	77.70	36.90	40.80
42. Yamanashi	76.90	37.80	39.10
43. Fukui	72.10	35.30	36.80
44. Tokushima	67.80	32.50	35.30
45. Kochi	64.90	30.70	34.20
46. Shimane	63.10	30.60	32.50
47. Tottori	52.50	25.20	27.30
Japan Total	12,029.56	5,844.99	6,184.57

Quick Takeaways from the Rankings

Tokyo still dominates with 13.46 million people.

Tokyo leads the way with 13.46 million residents – about 11.2% of the entire country. Kanagawa is in second place with 8.94 million, but the gap is huge. The capital attracts people because it is full of head offices, big companies, and all kinds of opportunities. It's no surprise that central special wards like Chiyoda and Chuo are extremely dense.

Tottori has the smallest population at just 525,000

Tottori Prefecture, on the other hand, is the smallest with only 525,000 people – less than 4% of Tokyo's total. Eleven prefectures, including Shimane, Kochi, Tokushima, and Fukui, have fewer than one million residents. This really highlights how Japan's aging society and low birth rate are affecting rural areas the most.

The massive gap between the capital region and everywhere else

Smaller provinces face difficult challenges in keeping services such as health care and schools running. With young people moving to big cities and birth rates remaining low, many rural areas are seeing even greater population declines.

↑ Japan’s birth rate trends

How population ties to GDP

Generally, places with more people also have larger economies. Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi, and Kanagawa together account for about half of Japan's total GDP. They are home to a number of headquarters and high-productivity industries. For example, Nagoya in Aichi is a major auto-manufacturing center, and all that activity keeps the economy running.

That said, some small provinces actually have very high GDP per capita because they focus on high-value industries or natural resources.

2025 Special Wards & Designated Cities Population Ranking

Let's now take a look at Tokyo's 23 special wards and the country's designated cities (those with more than 500,000 residents).

Rank	Special Ward / Designated City	Population (in 10,000s)	Men (in 10,000s)	Women (in 10,000s)
1	Tokyo 23 Wards	987.40	484.10	503.00
2	Yokohama	377.10	185.90	191.20
3	Osaka	279.20	134.30	144.90
4	Nagoya	233.10	114.40	118.70
5	Sapporo	196.80	91.70	105.10
6	Fukuoka	165.70	78.20	87.50
7	Kawasaki	155.20	78.10	77.10
8	Kobe	149.20	70.00	79.30
9	Kyoto	143.70	67.80	75.90
10	Saitama	135.00	66.90	68.10
11	Hiroshima	118.00	56.90	61.10
12	Sendai	109.60	53.00	56.60
13	Chiba	98.50	48.40	50.00
14	Kitakyushu	90.80	42.90	47.90
15	Sakai	80.70	38.30	42.40
16	Hamamatsu	77.50	38.60	39.00
17	Niigata	76.60	36.80	39.80
18	Kumamoto	73.70	34.90	38.90
19	Sagamihara	72.40	36.00	36.30
20	Okayama	71.30	34.30	37.00
21	Shizuoka	67.20	32.70	34.50

Tokyo's 23 wards crushed the competition with about 9.87 million people. Yokohama and Osaka are in second and third place. These top cities are the centers of Japan's largest metro areas, attracting people for jobs, schools, and everything in between.

At the bottom of the list, regional centers like Nagoya, Sapporo and Fukuoka are still strong. Places like Saitama and Chiba benefit from being part of the greater Tokyo commuter belt, so their populations remain stable. Overall, the numbers show that Japan's population remains concentrated around three large metropolises: Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.