Births in Japan fell to below 800,000 for the first time since 1899, according to government data released on Tuesday. The total number of births was just 799,728, falling to a record low for the seventh consecutive year. The number of deaths rose to 1.58 million, Japan’s health ministry said.
Twice as many people died in Japan last year as were born. Population freefall.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2023
Rest of the world is trending to follow.https://t.co/JDHiFviua5
The number of births registered in Japan plummeted to another record low last year — the latest worrying statistic in a decades-long decline that the country’s authorities have failed to reverse despite their extensive efforts.
The country saw 799,728 births in 2022, the lowest number on record and the first ever dip below 800,000, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday. That number has nearly halved in the past 40 years; by contrast, Japan recorded more than 1.5 million births in 1982.
Japan also reported a record high for post-war deaths last year, at more than 1.58 million. CNN
The government has been trying to increase the labor force by encouraging more women to work and accepting some immigrants. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has made support for children and their families a priority. The government will lay out its child and child-rearing policies and present a framework by June for doubling the budget allocated to them, Isozaki said.
The government allocated ¥4.8 trillion ($35.2 billion) from the fiscal 2023 budget to a new agency dedicated to children and their families, the Nikkei newspaper reported in December. Japan Times
It isn’t the only country in the region to be shrinking.