2-6-2023 (TOKYO) Japan’s birth rate has declined for the seventh consecutive year in 2022 to a record low, according to the health ministry. This underscores the sense of crisis gripping the country as the population shrinks and ages rapidly. The fertility rate, which is the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime, was 1.2565, lower than the previous low of 1.2601 recorded in 2005. This rate is far below the rate of 2.07 considered necessary to maintain a stable population.
The declining birth rate has been a major concern for Japan, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has made it a top priority. Despite high levels of debt, his government plans to spend 3.5 trillion yen ($25 billion) a year on child care and other measures to support parents. During a visit to a daycare facility, Kishida emphasized the need to reverse the trend of dwindling births before the youth population starts decreasing drastically in the 2030s.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated Japan’s demographic challenges, with fewer marriages in recent years contributing to fewer births and the virus partly responsible for more deaths. The latest data showed that the number of newborns in Japan fell to a new low of 770,747, a 5 percent decrease from the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of deaths shot up by 9 percent to a record 1.57 million. More than 47,000 deaths in Japan last year were caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The declining birth rate and aging population present significant challenges for Japan’s economy and social welfare system. As the working-age population shrinks, there will be fewer taxpayers to support the growing number of elderly citizens who require care. The government’s efforts to address this issue will be closely watched in the coming years as Japan grapples with this demographic shift.
