Japan's population increases

TOKYO, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Japan's population grew for the first time in three years to more than 127 million, officials said.

The Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said the country's population grew 12,707 from a year earlier, The Japan Times reported Friday.

Although there was fall in the natural population because deaths outnumbered births in Japan, there was an increase of repatriates and newly naturalized citizens, the newspaper reported.

Officials said part of the increase is attributable to workers returning to Japan after their companies closed their offices overseas.

The report also said the population in Tokyo increased by 100,460, marking the first time the 100,000 mark was passed since the government began taking population surveys in 1968, the newspaper said.