I think OP meant that, given the shrinking population, total GDP won't grow, even if per capita GDP does. People routinely conflate GDP growth and GDP per capi

I think OP meant that, given the shrinking population, total GDP won't grow, even if per capita GDP does. People routinely conflate GDP growth and GDP per capita growth. For example, US GDP growth seems high relative to other rich countries because the US has more immigration and a higher birth rate. This leads to more GDP, though not necessarily GDP per capita. So, Japan could actually get richer (per person) as their economy shrinks. This also means that defining recession only in total GDP terms may be misleading.