Japan sees biggest fall in new births

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Japan last year recorded the biggest fall in new births, government data revealed Tuesday.

The number of babies dropped below 800,000 for the first time since records began in 1899, the Health Ministry data showed.

It is also the seventh consecutive year that the number of babies born in the country continued to fall.

The number of births was down 5.1% to 799,728, the data showed. “Excluding children born to foreign parents, the approximate number of births is estimated to be around 770,000.”

“Lifestyle changes resulting from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and a growing trend of people marrying later in life are thought to have exacerbated the declining birthrate,” according to Tokyo-based Kyodo News.

The number of deaths last year “hit a record high of 1,582,033, up 129,744.”

Since 1973, when the number of new births peaked at around 2.09 million, Japan has seen a decline in the number of new births.

A decade later, in 1984, Japan's new births had fallen to 1.5 million. In 2016, there were less than a million new babies.

Last month, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his government will prioritize policies aimed at facilitating child-rearing, which is “the most effective investment for the future.”

Kishida warned the nation of around 126 million people, also grappling with an aging population, was “on the brink of losing its social function due to its rapidly declining birthrate.”

Vowing to reverse the country’s falling birthrate, the premier said his government will work to “create a children-first economy and society” with the Children and Families Agency, the new governmental body expected to be launched in April.