TOKYO -- An influx of foreign workers has helped Japan cope with the nation's labor shortage, as working-age Japanese decline to their smallest share of the country's population on record.
The number of Japanese aged 15-64, or the working-age population, stood at 74.23 million as of Jan. 1, the internal affairs ministry reported Wednesday, a decrease of 613,028 from a year earlier. This represents a mere 59.5% of the total population, an all-time low that reflects the aging of Japan's public.
