Key facts
- Toyama officials are accused of inflating the city's population by over 2,000 people.
- The alleged falsification could have resulted in Toyama receiving an estimated 60 million yen ($378,000) more in central government funding.
- Japan's total population decreased in all but two of its 47 prefectures last year, with the rate of decline accelerating.
- Toyama's actual population last year was 399,197, down from an allegedly inflated figure of 402,133.
- Falsifying statistics in Japan can lead to fines or jail time of up to six months.
Japanese authorities are investigating officials in the central city of Toyama for allegedly inflating population figures in the latest national census. Police raided the city hall on Saturday after the central government filed a criminal complaint, accusing officials of falsely adding more than 2,000 non-existent residents. The census data is crucial for determining central government funding allocations.
According to a city estimate, Toyama may have received approximately 60 million yen ($378,000) more than it was entitled to due to the alleged inflation. This comes as Japan grapples with a significant demographic challenge: a rapidly declining and aging population. Last year, population decreased in all but two of Japan's 47 prefectures, with the decline accelerating.
Preliminary investigations suggest that empty households were marked as occupied to artificially boost the numbers. Toyama's Mayor Hirohisa Fujii stated that the city government would cooperate with the investigation but denied any senior official directive to inflate the census data. He added that he would take responsibility at the appropriate time.
Under Japanese law, falsifying statistics can result in fines or imprisonment for up to six months. Officials from Japan's Statistics Bureau have expressed strong disapproval of the alleged violation, calling it "extremely regrettable" for such an important national survey.