Almost a million more deaths than births were recorded in Japan last year, representing the steepest annual population decline since government surveys began in 1968.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has described the demographic crisis of Japan’s ageing population as a “quiet emergency”, pledging family-friendly policies such as free childcare and more flexible work hours.
But efforts to reverse the perennially low birth rates among Japanese women have so far made little impact.
New data released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed the number of Japanese nationals fell by 908,574 in 2024.
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