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The story
In finalized results from the 2025 national census released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on September 29, Tottori Prefecture’s population came in at 523,073 — the lowest of all 47 prefectures. The decline of 30,334 people and the 5.5% drop rate from the previous 2020 census were both the largest since records began in 1920, and it was also the first time every one of the prefecture’s 19 municipalities saw population decline. On 5ch’s News Flash+ (Newssoku+) board, commenters piled on comparing Tottori’s population to other cities and Tokyo’s special wards, with many expressing surprise while citing specific places like the city of Saitama, Hachioji, and Koto Ward. Meanwhile, plenty of posts also revisited proposals to merge with Shimane Prefecture and looked back at the history of prefectures being split and merged in the past.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released the finalized results of the census — conducted every five years — on September 29. As of October 1, 2025, Tottori Prefecture’s population stood at 523,073 (250,396 men and 272,677 women), the lowest of any prefecture, down 30,334 from the previous count in 2020.
According to the prefecture, both the decline in numbers and the decline rate (5.5%) were the largest since the census began in 1920 (Taisho 9). It was also the first time since the census began that all 19 municipalities in the prefecture saw a population decrease compared to the previous survey. By municipality, six towns saw declines of over 10%, including Wakasa (down 18.4%), Nichinan (down 14.6%), and Hino (down 14.3%).
Additionally, the proportion of the prefecture’s “working-age population” (ages 15-64) fell to 54.3%, the lowest since the census began. The number of foreign residents in the prefecture rose to 6,088, an increase of 1,450 (31.3%) from the previous count.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
So a prefecture is losing to a city now…
It's even losing to Hachioji
Shikoku is in trouble too — even all four Shikoku prefectures combined have fewer people than the city of Yokohama. Ehime barely clears 1 million on its own.
With falling birth rates, there aren't enough workers or people to support the social safety net, so we're heading toward a world where you work until you die.
If you don't want that,
working-age people need to have three or more kids,
current seniors should keep working until their healthy life expectancy runs out,
and society needs to stop tolerating freeloading NEETs (people Not in Education, Employment, or Training).
Then the government should provide jobs for people, shouldn't it
I don't think there's any obligation to pay welfare to people who haven't worked, paid taxes, or paid into pension
Well, at this rate it'll be a genuine ghost region in like 20 years
LOL, they're getting sucked into neighboring Shimane
Shimane Prefecture (12.7%) is the top destination, followed by Osaka (11.3%), Hyogo (10.2%), Hiroshima (9.9%), and Okayama (8.0%)
https://www.pref.tottori.lg.jp/38472.htm
I live in the Kanto area so honestly I kind of just lump them together as practically one prefecture, but I guess Shimane's the better option? Now I'm curious where people from Shimane move to, though.
Wait, seriously? lol
What's even in Shimane?
Shimane was actually the #2 destination
Osaka (12.3%) is the largest, followed by Shimane (11.3%), Hyogo (9.7%), Hiroshima (9.4%), and Okayama (8.0%) — these five neighboring prefectures account for over half (50.6%) of all moves out of the prefecture.
34 Utsunomiya City Tochigi 518,757
That's about where it stands right now
Koto Ward's population is actually growing — places like Toyosu are packed with kids
From August 21, 1876 (Meiji 9) to September 12, 1881 (Meiji 14), for about five years, Tottori Prefecture was absorbed into Shimane Prefecture as a single unit.
Oh, back around then, huh
Weren't Miyazaki, Saga, Tokushima, Kagawa, Nara, and Fukui also abolished back then too?
Those ought to get merged as well
Ehime and Kochi, lol, that's a good one
Setagaya Ward 943,664
Nerima Ward 752,608
Ota Ward 748,081
Edogawa Ward 697,932
Adachi Ward 695,043
Suginami Ward 591,108
Itabashi Ward 584,483
Tottori should just get folded into Tokyo and become 'Tottori Ward'
Other way around!
I think it'd be better to fold Setagaya Ward into Tottori Prefecture
Guess people with no money should just move to Tottori then
There's farmland, there are fishing ports, and there are shops too — country-style, but they're there
Settsu of the Kinai region (split off from Osaka)
Tanba of the San'in region (split off from Kyoto, later partly absorbed into Osaka too), and Tajima
Harima, Bizen (Fukura in Ako City), and Mimasaka (part of Sayo Town, Sayo District) of the San'yo region
Awaji of the Nankai region
which is why it ends up spanning both the Sea of Japan side and the Seto Inland Sea side
https://kotobank.jp/image/dictionary/nipponica/media/81306024018325.jpg
Too far from Matsue
In an era where entry-level pay for appliance store sales clerks tops 400,000 yen (about $2,700) a month, being against a minimum wage hike is just going to make everyone leave
Izumo is in Shimane Prefecture
Correct answer
Tottori Prefecture would be better off as part of Shimane Prefecture
What do we even call it then, 'Chiri'? (a pun — チリ can read as 'scraps/dust' or as the country Chile)
Background and key points of this discussion
Tottori was already the least-populous prefecture in the country, so it’s easy to overlook that this result isn’t a ‘first-ever fall to last place’ — it’s simply the existing record-holder breaking its own record further. In the outmigration data that came up on the thread, neighboring prefectures — Shimane, Osaka, Hyogo, Hiroshima, and Okayama — top the list, showing that most people leaving Tottori are moving to nearby cities within commuting or school-commuting range rather than farther afield. Posts proposing mergers or joking that Tottori ‘should just become a Tokyo ward’ aren’t serious policy arguments — they’re spreading as a lighthearted, intuitive way of grasping the scale of the population figures. The drop in the working-age population share to a record-low 54.3% is a metric directly tied to future tax revenue and the shrinking pool of people supporting the social safety net, and in practical terms it may carry more weight than the overall population decline itself.
*This article is composed of excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (News Flash+) thread “Tottori Prefecture’s Population Hits Nationwide Low of 523,073 — Both Decline Count and Rate at Record Highs.”
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