Number of newborns in Japan falls to record low in 2025: Government data

Only 705,809 babies were born last year, marking decade-long decline and demographic crisis that experts say is accelerating

By Ahmet Furkan Mercan

The number of newborns in Japan fell to a record low in 2025, underscoring the country’s deepening demographic crisis, according to official figures released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

The ministry said Thursday that 705,809 babies were born in 2025, marking a 2.1% decline compared with the previous year and the lowest figure since records began in 1899. The number of births has now declined for 10 consecutive years.

Japan’s annual births peaked at 2.69 million in 1949 before falling to 2.09 million in 1973 and 1.5 million in 1983. The figure dropped below 1 million for the first time in 2016.

The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research had previously forecast that “the number of newborns would not fall below 710,000 before 2042.”

The projection was effectively missed, as the threshold was reached 17 years earlier than expected.

Meanwhile, deaths in Japan totaled 1.61 million in 2025, down by 13,030 compared with the previous year.

The number of marriages recorded last year rose 1.1% from 2024 to 505,656, according to official data.

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Demir in Istanbul

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