Japan’s births hit a new low last year

Japan’s population crisis has deepened as the number of births recorded in the country hit a new low last year, despite efforts by the government to reverse the decades-long decline.

Statistics released by the Ministry of Health yesterday show that the country saw 799,728 births in 2022. This was the lowest number on record, and the first time it has dipped below 800,000.

The figure has nearly halved over the past four decades, with more than 1.5 million births recorded in 1982, CNN reported.

At the same time, Japan reported a record high for post-war deaths last year, at over 1.58 million. For over a decade, deaths have outpaced births in Japan, posing a growing problem for leaders of the world’s third-largest economy. The country faces a fast-growing elderly population along with a shrinking workforce to fund pensions and healthcare as demand from the ageing population…