TOKYO -- Japan's population shrank by a record 420,000 people last year, government estimates show, as the coronavirus pandemic dealt a heavy blow to an influx of foreign workers that had helped offset the country's ongoing natural population decline.

东京——政府估计，去年日本人口减少了创纪录的42万人，因为冠状病毒大流行对外国工人的涌入造成了沉重打击，帮助抵消了该国持续的自然人口下降。

The total fell for a 12th straight year, shattering the previous record of 329,000 set just a year earlier. The health ministry estimates Japan's population at 125.57 million as of Jan. 1, based on confirmed data through July and estimates based on births, deaths and foreign arrival and departure data.

总数连续第12年下降，打破了一年前创下的32.9万人的纪录。日本厚生省估计，截至1月1日，日本人口为1.2557亿，这是根据截至7月的确认数据以及出生、死亡和外国入境和离境数据估算得出的。

The drop owes in large part to a 60% plunge in foreign arrivals that has kept the labor market tight even though the pandemic has slowed the economy and eliminated many jobs.

这一下降在很大程度上是由于外国移民数量锐减了60%，这使得劳动力市场保持紧张，尽管这一流行病已经减缓了经济增长，并消除了许多就业机会。

The natural rate of decline -- or the difference between births and deaths -- was about on par with 2019 during the first seven months of the year. But net foreign arrivals to the country tumbled more than 40% over that period to 115,000 amid entry restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.

自然下降率（即出生和死亡之间的差异）与今年前7个月的2019年基本持平。但是，由于旨在遏制病毒传播的入境限制，到日本的外国净入境人数在此期间下降了40%以上，达到11.5万人。

The influx of foreign workers in recent years had alleviated labor shortages in a range of industries, including restaurants, convenience stores, manufacturing and construction.

近年来外国工人的涌入缓解了包括餐馆、便利店、制造业和建筑业在内的一系列行业的劳动力短缺。

"If the inflow of foreigners continues to be disrupted, the labor shortage will quickly worsen," said Takuya Hoshino of the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

第一生命研究所的Takuya Hoshino说：“如果外国人的流入继续受到干扰，劳动力短缺将迅速恶化。”。



标题是：日本人口和涌入的外国人 （百万计）
注： 蓝色的是外国人进入日本数 绿色是人口变化

Data from the Bank of Japan shows that employers remain short-handed despite the pandemic.

日本央行（bankofjapan）的数据显示，尽管流感大流行，雇主仍然人手不足。

In the December edition of the quarterly Tankan survey of business sentiment, the diffraction index of employment conditions came in at minus 10, indicating that more companies said employment is "insufficient" than "excessive." Readings were negative in all 12 nonmanufacturing industries, particularly construction, information services and retail.

在12月份的Tankan商业信心季度调查中，就业状况的绕射指数为-10，表明更多的公司表示就业“不足”而不是“过度”。12个非制造业的数据均为负值，尤其是建筑业、信息服务业和零售业。

Even the hard-hit restaurant and hotel industry reported a labor shortage, with a reading of minus 3, after spending June and September in surplus territory, though it may have swung back in the other direction during the current state of emergency.

即使是遭受重创的餐饮业和酒店业也报告称，在6月和9月的盈余地区度过之后，劳动力短缺指数为负3，不过在目前的紧急状态下，该行业可能已经转向了另一个方向。

The entry of foreign workers is expected to pick up again once vaccines and other measures quell the outbreak. But "wages are rising in China and elsewhere, so it's not clear if there will be as many [people] coming to Japan as before," Hoshino said.

一旦疫苗和其他措施平息疫情，外国工人的入境人数预计将再次回升。但Hoshino说：“中国和其他地方的工资都在上涨，所以不清楚来日本的人是否会像以前一样多。”。

This year is expected to see a significant drop in birth rates. Reported pregnancies fell 5.1% on the year to about 727,000 for the 10 months through October, according to the health ministry, with a particularly steep decline starting in May.

预计今年出生率将大幅下降。据卫生部统计，截至10月份的10个月内，报告的怀孕率同比下降5.1%，至72.7万人左右，其中5月份开始下降尤为明显。

Dai-ichi Life Research and the Japan Research Institute both see births falling below 800,000, beyond 2019's record low of 865,000. The accelerated population decline may continue into next year.

第一生命研究院和日本研究院都预计出生率将降至80万以下，超过2019年的最低纪录86.5万。人口的加速下降可能会持续到明年。