Shrinking Japan records fewest births in 123 years as officials warn of ‘critical situation’

The number of newborns in Japan fell to 799,728 in 2022, down 5.1 per cent year on year, while deaths rose 8.9 per cent to 1.58 million

There are similar demographic problems across ageing Asia. China’s population shrank in 2022 and South Korea kept the world’s lowest fertility rate

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A Japanese mother and child play on a cherry blossom tree in Tokyo last month. Births in Japan declined for the seventh straight year in 2022. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:01am, 1 Mar 2023Updated: 11:27am, 1 Mar 2023

Japan posted the fewest births in its recorded history last year, continuing a seven-year decline that further aggravates the challenges of its rapidly ageing society.

The number of newborns fell to 799,728 in 2022, down 5.1 per cent from a year earlier, to lowest since it began record-keeping in 1899, according to data Japan’s health ministry released Tuesday. The number of deaths rose 8.9 per cent to 1.58 million for the same period, it said.

The lack of births means Japan will have a smaller workforce and fewer taxpayers to sustain the world’s third-largest economy in the years to come.

The rising cost of caring for its elderly citizens, who make up a higher proportion of the population than in any other country, is draining the nation’s coffers, helping make it the world’s most indebted country.

People walk through the southwestern Japanese city of Fukuoka earlier this year. Elderly citizens make up a higher proportion of Japan’s population than in any other country. Photo: Kyodo

“We recognise that the falling birth rate is a critical situation,” said Yoshihiko Isozaki, a deputy chief cabinet secretary, in a briefing Tuesday. “My understanding is that various factors are intricately intertwined, preventing individuals from realising their hopes for marriage, child birth and child rearing.”