The number of newborns in Japan has dropped faster than expected, with the age count falling to a record low last year, according to government data released on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Health said that 686,061 babies were born in Japan in 2024, a 5.7% decrease from the previous year, and the number of newborns fell below 700,000 for the first time since the record began in 1899.
The decline was 15 years faster than the government's forecast. Last year's figures were about a quarter of the peak of 2.7 million in 1949 during the post-war infant boom.
Data in a country that is rapidly aging and population declining has increased concerns about the sustainability of economy and national security, while governments are trying to increase defense spending.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described the situation as a “silent state of emergency” and promised to promote a more flexible working environment and other measures that would help married couples balance work and parenting, especially in rural areas where family values tend to be more conservative and work harder on women.
A global issue
Japan is far from lonely.
According to Canadian statistics released last fall, Canada's fertility rate was 1.26 children for the second consecutive year. It joins the ranks of “low” birth countries including South Korea, Spain, Italy and Japan.
Statistics Canada said the country recorded its lowest fertility rate ever, for the second consecutive year. We broke down the statistics, including which province is the lowest.
Experts have linked a range of factors to reproductive decisions, including rising cost of living, ecology and anxiety, and the transfer of social norms around the size of the family. More and more people are also postponing their parents' childbirth until later, which can shorten their reproductive window.
In the United States, birth and birth rates have fallen for years. Apart from the rise in 2014, they declined most of the time after the 2008-09 recession.
The Trump administration is reportedly proposing incentives that could include a $5,000 U.S. “Baby Bonus”, retaining scholarship placement for applicants who are married or have children, and a medal for mothers for women with six or more children.
South Korea has taken various measures to encourage young people to get married and have children, including tax cuts and subsidies, but it has also expanded the increase in parental leave, health leave, and added more flexible working schedules for parents. Last year, its fertility rate rose for the first time in nine years, from 0.72 to 0.75.
Population is expected to decline
The latest data from the Ministry of Health shows that Japan's fertility rate (the average number of babies in women's lives is expected to fall to a new low of 1.15 in 2024 from 1.2 a year ago.
Marriages rose slightly to 485,063 couples, but the downward trend has remained unchanged since the 1970s.
Experts say government measures have not yet addressed the increasing number of young people getting married, while focusing mainly on married couples and planning to have a family or already have children.
Experts say younger generations are increasingly reluctant to get married, or because of poor job prospects, high cost of living and gender-biased corporate culture, putting additional burdens on women and working mothers.
More and more women are also citing the pressure to change their last name to their husbands because they are reluctant to get married. Under civil law, couples must choose their last name to get married, a rule that traditionally leads women to give up their first name.
Japan's population is about 124 million, which is expected to drop to 87 million by 2070, when 40% of the population will exceed 65.
