TOKYO - The total population of Japan, including foreigners, is 127,799,000 as of October 1, 2011, 0.2 percent down from a year earlier, Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Tuesday.

According to data released by the government, the population decreased 259,000 in 2011, the biggest decline since 1950.

The population of Fukushima Prefecture, which is suffering from the March 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster and nuclear disaster in Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, reduced 1.93 percent, a recorded high out of the country's 47 prefectures.

Japanese nationals stood at 126,180,000, down 0.16 percent. The share of the population aged 65 and older hit an all-time high of 23.3 percent.