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The number of babies born in Japan last year fell to the lowest level since records began 125 years ago as the country’s demographic crisis deepens and government efforts to reverse the decline continue to fail.
Japan recorded 720,988 births in 2024, according to preliminary government figures published on Thursday.
The number has declined for nine straight years and appears to be largely unaffected by financial and other government incentives for married couples to produce more children.
The 2024 figure is a 5 per cent drop from the previous year and the lowest since records began during Japan’s Meiji era in 1899.
Combined with a record 1.6mn deaths last year, the figures mean Japan’s population shrank by almost 900,000 people, net of immigration figures.
In 2023, Japan’s then-prime minister Fumio Kishida warned that the country stood on the verge of “whether we can continue to function as a society” because of its shrinking and ageing population.
Japan’s demographics are increasingly skewed, with a rapidly declining cohort of young people having to support the health and social security costs of a country with massive public debt. About 30 per cent of the population is aged over 65.
Government agencies have introduced increasingly radical measures to reverse the decline, including an experiment by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to let employees work a four-day week.
Japan’s falling birth rate contrasts to South Korea, which reported a rise in the fertility rate for the first time in nine years on Wednesday, helped by a surge in marriages.
Some demographic experts had been hopeful of a pent-up baby boom in Japan following the pandemic, but the decline in births has continued unabated.
A 2011 study by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research had not expected the number of births to fall to 720,000 until 2039.
As Japan grapples with its demographic challenges, it faces tough decisions on how to sustain its society and economy in the face of a shrinking population. The government’s efforts to incentivize more births have not yielded the desired results, prompting a need for more innovative solutions to address this pressing issue.
With South Korea seeing a slight uptick in its fertility rate, it serves as a contrast to Japan’s continued decline in birth rates. The differences in these trends highlight the complex factors at play in shaping population dynamics and the challenges faced by countries with ageing populations.
As Japan navigates these demographic challenges, it will be crucial for policymakers to think creatively and adapt to ensure the long-term sustainability of the country’s social and economic systems.
