'No time to waste': As Japan hits a record low birth rate, government urges action

 Japan's birth rate is the lowest it has been since statistics were first collected in 1899. Government officials said the rate was in a "critical state", with the birth rate having declined for the eighth consecutive year.

In 2023, Japan is expected to welcome 758,631 babies, according to Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare – but the number is down 5.1% from the previous year.

A major reason for the decline in the birth rate in Japan is the decline in married couples.

Marriages fell 5.9% to 489,281 couples – the first time in 90 years the number was below half a million. Childbirth by unmarried parents is rare in Japan due to traditional patriarchal family values, the Associated Press reports.

"The period over the next six years or until the 2030s, when the youth population will begin to decline rapidly, will be the last chance we may be able to reverse this trend," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters earlier this week. ,” Hayashi continued. , "There's no time to waste," the AP reported.

   Is the rate shrinking?

A survey by a pharmaceutical firm has revealed that nearly half of unmarried people under the age of 30 in Japan have no interest in having children. Respondents said that the burden of childbearing and parenting, along with economic concerns, was a reason they were not interested in having children.

The survey found that the high cost of living, which exceeds wage growth, is one reason why young Japanese adults are not interested in becoming parents. Bleak job prospects and intense corporate cultures are discouraging even young adults who are of childbearing age.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida previously called low birthrates "the biggest crisis facing Japan" and put forward a package of measures that mostly includes reducing child births, more support and subsidies for children and their families.

What effect will the declining birth rate have on Japan?

Japan's population is expected to decline by about 30% to 87 million by 2070, with four out of every 10 people being 65 or older, the AP reports.

The aging and declining population is a cause of concern on national security issues and may lead to economic challenges for the country.

In which other countries is the birth rate falling?

China and South Korea are also facing declining birth rates: The average number of babies expected per person to give birth in South Korea will fall to a record low of 0.72 in 2022 from 0.78, according to Statistics Korea data. Has been.

The US also faced a decline in the birth rate: According to the CDC, between 2007 and 2022, the birth rate fell from 14.3 births per 1,000 people to 11.1, or about 23%. But between 2021 and 2022, the rate increased slightly from 11 births per 1,000 people to 11.1 births per 1,000 people.

The Economist reported that the 15 largest countries by GDP have fertility rates below the replacement rate – the number of children born per person born that would be needed to replace the current population.

The global fertility rate in 2000 was 2.7 births per capita, slightly above the "replacement rate" of 2.1. The fertility rate in 2023 was 2.3 and is declining.