TOKYO, Nov 6 (NNN-NHK) – The number of births in Japan this year is likely to fall under 700,000, for the first time, after government data showed yesterday that, the figure in the first half fell 6.3 percent from a year earlier to 329,998, Kyodo News reported.
Health ministry’s data for the six-month period from Jan, excluding foreigners, reflects the birth rate remaining at record lows, in the past years, as more people choose not to marry or delay marriage and having children until later in life, the report said.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths in the year through June, rose 1.8 percent from a year earlier to 800,274, resulting in a natural population decline of 470,276.
With its population declining for the 15th consecutive year in 2023, Japan seeks to raise the birth rate by expanding childcare allowances and providing benefits for taking parental leave, among other measures, as it considers the period up until the early 2030s, the “last chance” to reverse the birthrate crisis, the report said.
Preliminary data released by the ministry in Aug showed that, the number of babies born in Japan, including to foreigners, as well as, to Japanese citizens residing overseas, fell 5.7 percent from a year earlier, to a record low of 350,074 in the Jan to Jun period.– NNN-NHK
