Japan births fall to lowest in 125 years

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Financial Times
Today 12:15

Marking the ninth consecutive year of decline in birth rates, this year hit the lowest, marking a 5% decrease.

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Babies attend an event in Tokyo, Japan, on April 28, 2024. (AFP)

Japan's birth rate hit its lowest point in 125 years in 2024, marking the deepest point yet in the country's demographic crisis as government efforts to reverse the trend continue to fall short.

According to the Financial Times, preliminary government data reveals that 720,988 babies were born in Japan last year, marking a 5% decrease from the previous year and the lowest figure since records began in 1899 during the Meiji era.

As per the report, this marks the ninth consecutive year of declining births, despite various government financial incentives encouraging married couples to have more children. Combined with a record 1.6 million deaths in 2024, Japan's population decreased by nearly 900,000 people, excluding immigration.

In 2023, then-prime minister Fumio Kishida warned that Japan faced a critical moment, questioning whether the country could continue functioning as a society due to its rapidly shrinking and aging population.

That said, Japan’s demographic shift is becoming increasingly lopsided, with a shrinking young population now burdened with supporting the health and social security costs of an aging society, which is also grappling with massive public debt.

Around 30% of the population is over 65 years old.

In response, government agencies have implemented more radical measures, such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's trial of a four-day workweek for employees, to reverse the decline.

South Korea reported an increase in its fertility rate for the first time in nine years, while Japan's birth rate continues to fall.

Some demographic experts hoped for a post-pandemic baby boom in Japan, but the decline in births has continued. A 2011 study, published by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, projected that Japan's births would not fall to 720,000 until 2039.