Worries rise as births fall to a record low in Japan

TOKYO — The number of babies born in Japan last year fell for an eighth consecutive year to a new low, government data showed Tuesday, and a top official said it was crucial for the country to reverse the trend in the coming half-dozen years.

The 758,631 babies born in Japan in 2023 were a 5.1% decline from the previous year, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry. It was the lowest number of births since Japan started compiling the statistics in 1899.

The number of marriages fell by 5.9% to 489,281 couples, falling below a half-million for the first time in 90 years — one of the key reasons for the declining births. Out-of-wedlock births are rare in Japan because of family values based on a paternalistic tradition.

Surveys show that many younger Japanese balk at marrying or having families, discouraged by bleak job prospects, the high cost of living that rises at a faster pace than salaries and corporate cultures that are not compatible with having both parents work.

“The period over the next six years or so ... will be the last chance we may be able to reverse the trend,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi. “There is no time to waste.”

Japan’s population of more than 125 million is projected to fall to 87 million by 2070, with 4 out of every 10 people 65 or older. A shrinking and aging population has big implications for the economy and for national security as the country seeks to fortify its military to counter China’s increasingly assertive territorial ambitions.