Japan's population stood at 125.5 million as of Oct. 1, 2021, down by a record 644,000 from a year earlier, local media reported on Friday.

The decline was recorded in most prefectures of the country; Kyodo News Agency quoted the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry as saying.

The capital Tokyo also saw a decline for the first time in 26 years.

In June 2021, Japan had reported that its population declined by 0.7% during the past five years, dropping out for the first time since 1950 from the world's top 10 countries in terms of population.

The country's child population also decreased as figures indicated that Japan has seen the child population dropping continuously over the past 40 years, leaving the world's third-largest economy grappling with an aging population.

Japan is also among 33 countries with the lowest child population ratio, along with South Korea and Italy.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid (Anadolu Agency)