Japan records record low number of newborns for 9th consecutive year

(Dan Tri) - Despite the government's efforts to encourage people to have children, Japan is still witnessing the number of newborns drop to a record low, posing a major challenge for the future of its population and workforce.

Nhật Bản ghi nhận số trẻ sơ sinh thấp kỷ lục trong 9 năm liên tiếp - 1 — Japan is facing a population crisis as the number of children born continues to decline (Illustration: Kyodo News).

Japan continues to face a population crisis as the number of newborns falls to a historic low, marking nine consecutive years of decline with no signs of stopping, according to data from the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on February 27 that only 720,998 babies were born, down 5% from the previous year. This is the lowest number since Japan began recording birth rates in 1899.

What is more worrying is that this decline is occurring 15 years faster than predicted, indicating that the rate of aging and population decline in Japan is far exceeding previous estimates. This shows that the government's measures to prevent population decline have not been really effective.

"We have not been able to effectively control the decline in births," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi admitted, adding that the government would continue to expand child-rearing support programs, increase subsidies for families with young children, improve wages and promote matchmaking programs to encourage marriage.

However, at the current rate of decline, the number of Japanese nationals (including foreign-born babies in Japan) born in 2024 is likely to fall below 700,000 for the first time, 15 years earlier than previously forecast.

Meanwhile, another East Asian country facing a demographic crisis, South Korea, saw its first increase in births in nine years. Experts say this may be due to an increase in marriages after many couples postponed their weddings during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Huyen Mai

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/nhat-ban-ghi-nhan-so-tre-so-sinh-thap-ky-luc-trong-9-nam-lien-tiep-20250228165623862.htm