How many people live in Japan/Tokyo?

This is a question I get asked a lot. Tokyo is big. And yes, there are a lot of people. But when people ask me this question, they typically aren’t looking for a number. What they really mean is…

Is Japan/Tokyo crowded?

This question is a little more difficult to answer, though. It really depends on where you come from.

The best thing to look at for this question is population density. Below I’ve tried to show how crowded each country feels in comparison to each other.

US Population Density - 87 people/mi² (34/km²)