Will Japan go extinct?
What's the story
Japan's birth rate has reached a historic low, with just 720,988 births recorded in 2024.
The number marks a 5% decline from last year and continues a nine-year trend of declining birth rates.
The health ministry also noted that Japan recorded a record 1.6 million deaths last year, resulting in a population decline of nearly 900,000 people when factoring in emigration.
This means that two individuals died for every new infant born.
Government response
Prime Minister Ishiba acknowledges birth rate challenge
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has acknowledged the ongoing demographic challenge, saying, "We need to be aware the trend of falling births has not been arrested."
However, he also noted an increase in marriages, which rose by 2.2% to 499,999 in 2024.
Japan's population is expected to decrease by roughly 30%, to 87 million, by 2070, when four out of 10 people will be 65 or older.
Demographic shift
Japan's aging population and COVID-19's impact
Experts blame the decline in marriages and births partly on the COVID-19 pandemic's impact.
Takumi Fujinami from the Japan Research Institute had warned that this trend could continue until 2025.
In Japan, only a few of every 100 babies are born outside of marriage, which suggests that there is a stronger link between marriage and births.
Surveys find many younger Japanese are hesitant to start families because of poor career prospects, a high cost of living, and corporate cultures.
Policy efforts
Government measures to boost childbearing prove insufficient
Former PM Fumio Kishida's administration took steps to promote childbearing. These included expanding childcare facilities, providing housing subsidies, and even launching a government-run dating app.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government employees also took part in an experimental four-day work week.
It is "now or never situation," Kishida said last year.
"Japan is standing on the verge of whether we can continue to function as a society...Focusing attention on policies regarding children and child-rearing is an issue that cannot wait...cannot be postponed."