The number of babies born in Japan fell to a record low of 720,988 in 2024 for a ninth consecutive year of decline, the health ministry said yesterday, underscoring the rapid ageing and dwindling of the population.
Births were down five per cent on the year, despite a range of steps unveiled in 2023 by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to boost childbearing, while a record number of 1.62 million deaths meant that more than two people died for every new baby born.
Although the fertility rate in neighbouring South Korea rose in 2024 for the first time in nine years, thanks to measures to spur young people to marry and have children, the trend in Japan has yet to show an upturn.
Behind Japan’s childbirth decline are fewer marriages in recent years, stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, said Takumi Fujinami, an economist at the Japan Research Institute.
Although the number of marriages edged up 2.2pc to 499,999 in 2024, that came only after steep declines, such as a plunge of 12.7pc in 2020.
“The impact could linger on in 2025 as well,” Fujinami said.
Unlike some Western countries, only a few of every 100 babies in Japan are born out of wedlock, suggesting a stronger correlation between marriages and births.
Asked about the latest demographic data, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba noted the rise in the number of marriages.
“We need to be aware the trend of falling births has not been arrested. But the number of marriages posted an increase. Given close ties between the number of marriages and the number of births, we should focus on this aspect as well,” he said.
News this week that South Korea’s fertility rate rose to 0.75pc in 2024 from 0.72pc in 2023 suggested the demographic crisis there might have turned a corner.
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