Japan births fall to record low as population crisis deepens

[dani191]

Japan births fall to record low as population crisis deepens​

By Jessie Yeung and Mayumi Maruyama, CNN
Updated 11:34 PM EST, Wed March 1, 2023

Japanese flags on a street in Ginza, Tokyo on December 29, 2022.
Richard A. Brooks/AFP/Getty Images
CNN —
The number of births registered in Japan plummeted to another record low last year – the latest worrying statistic in a decades-long decline that the country’s authorities have failed to reverse despite their extensive efforts.
The country saw 799,728 births in 2022, the lowest number on record and the first ever dip below 800,000, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday. That number has nearly halved in the past 40 years; by contrast, Japan recorded more than 1.5 million births in 1982.
Japan also reported a record high for post-war deaths last year, at more than 1.58 million.


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Deaths have outpaced births in Japan for more than a decade, posing a growing problem for leaders of the world’s third-largest economy. They now face a ballooning elderly population, along with a shrinking workforce to fund pensions and health care as demand from the aging population surges.
Japan’s population has been in steady decline since its economic boom of the 1980s and stood at 125.5 million in 2021, according to the most recent government figures.
Its fertility rate of 1.3 is far below the rate of 2.1 required to maintain a stable population, in the absence of immigration.
The country also has one of the highest life expectancies in the world; in 2020, nearly one in 1,500 people in Japan were age 100 or older, according to government data.
These concerning trends prompted a warning in January from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that Japan is “on the brink of not being able to maintain social functions.”
“In thinking of the sustainability and inclusiveness of our nation’s economy and society, we place child-rearing support as our most important policy,” he said, adding that Japan “simply cannot wait any longer” in solving the problem of its low birth rate.


It's 'now or never' to reverse Japan's population crisis, prime minister says
A new government agency will be set up in April to focus on the issue, with Kishida saying in January that he wants the government to double its spending on child-related programs.
But money alone might not be able to solve the multi-pronged problem, with various social factors contributing to the low birth rate.
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Japan’s high cost of living, limited space and lack of child care support in cities make it difficult to raise children, meaning fewer couples are having kids. Urban couples are also often far from extended family in other regions, who could help provide support.
In 2022, Japan was ranked one of the world’s most expensive places to raise a child, according to research from financial institution Jefferies. And yet, the country’s economy has stalled since the early 1990s, meaning frustratingly low wages and little upward mobility.
The average real annual household income declined from 6.59 million yen ($50,600) in 1995 to 5.64 million yen ($43,300) in 2020, according to 2021 data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Attitudes toward marriage and starting families have also shifted in recent years, with more couples putting off both during the pandemic – and young people feeling increasingly pessimistic about the future.
It’s a familiar story throughout East Asia, where South Korea’s fertility rate – already the world’s lowest – dropped yet again last year in the latest setback to the country’s efforts to boost its declining population.
Meanwhile, China is inching closer to officially losing its title as the world’s most populous country to India after its population shrank in 2022 for the first time since the 1960s.

Japan births fall to record low as population crisis deepens | CNN

The number of births registered in Japan plummeted to another record low last year -- the latest worrying statistic in a decades-long decline that the country's authorities have failed to reverse despite their extensive efforts.

edition.cnn.com

 

[Imran Khan]

Good world population must be less then 5bn

 

[Olympus81]

Good world population must be less then 5bn

I think so too.

The focus should be on South Asia. 2bn desis is just too many for the world to endure.

Forced vasectomy, castration could be some steps to arrest the rate of growth.

 

[dani191]

Good world population must be less then 5bn

why?

 

[Imran Khan]

why?

earth have less resources to feed them

 

[Azadkashmir]

earth has enough resources to feed them why not get rid of the elite 1 percent.

 

[BHAN85]

Almost all world problems would be solved with 10% of current world population

 

[TSA321]

I think so too.

The focus should be on South Asia. 2bn desis is just too many for the world to endure.

Forced vasectomy, castration could be some steps to arrest the rate of growth.

Focus in South Asia only needs to be on Pakistan. The other South Asian countries are all almost near replacement rate.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

All those commenting here are oblivious to how population Pyramids and economies are Interlinked. There is a reason Western World is forced to take in people from 3rd world their Fertility rates are below the replacement levels hence not enough new children being born who will become new tax payers. This is the reason of increasing retirement ages in the western world. Their economies increasingly cant afford above 60s to retire. In a decade Retirement age will cross 70 in most of these countries. Its the younger tax payers that finance pensions and retires. A strong and healthy population is necessary to maintain a functioning society and economy.

Japan faces total economic collapse if it doesn't fixes its demographic collapse. Same will happen to South Korea and China down the road. The western world with its attitudes toward immigration has the luxury to import labor from its former colonial holdings. Even Russians are only holding due to mass migration from Former Central Asian soviet republics.

Kishida cant do much to prop up birthrates now. Japanese aren't gonna just have children with just financial incentives and tax brakes his predecessors have been trying the same policies with no effect for the last 30 years. The only option Japan has left is migration from East Asian nations and Japanese Society is not ready for the changes that scale of migrations will bring.

 

[Meengla]

All those commenting here are oblivious to how population Pyramids and economies are Interlinked. There is a reason Western World is forced to take in people from 3rd world their Fertility rates are below the replacement levels hence not enough new children being born who will become new tax payers. This is the reason of increasing retirement ages in the western world. Their economies increasingly cant afford above 60s to retire. In a decade Retirement age will cross 70 in most of these countries. Its the younger tax payers that finance pensions and retires. A strong and healthy population is necessary to maintain a functioning society and economy.

Japan faces total economic collapse if it doesn't fixes its demographic collapse. Same will happen to South Korea and China down the road. The western world with its attitudes toward immigration has the luxury to import labor from its former colonial holdings. Even Russians are only holding due to mass migration from Former Central Asian soviet republics.

Kishida cant do much to prop up birthrates now. Japanese aren't gonna just have children with just financial incentives and tax brakes his predecessors have been trying the same policies with no effect for the last 30 years. The only option Japan has left is migration from East Asian nations and Japanese Society is not ready for the changes that scale of migrations will bring.

Nailed it!!!
I am still too young to retire; sadly, still several more years of the drudgery ahead. But, boy, don't I wish there would be young people working to keep the US Social Security going for me until I croak?? Why should I give up my hard earned retirement??
Bottom line: There are many countries of the world which need people and there are many countries of the world which have too many people. Only xenophobia is preventing rational policies to come up with solutions.

 

[Dr-who]

I think so too.

The focus should be on South Asia. 2bn desis is just too many for the world to endure.

Forced vasectomy, castration could be some steps to arrest the rate of growth.

No just nuke them
Problem solved

Forced vasectomy castration, lol

 

[beijingwalker]

Japan’s population drops by half a million in 2022​

By Jessie Yeung and Moeri Karasawa, CNN
Published 2:37 AM EDT, Thu April 13, 2023

Japan’s population has fallen for the 12th consecutive year, as deaths rise and the birth rate continues to sink, according to government data released Wednesday.

The population stood at 124.49 million in 2022 – representing a decline of 556,000 from the previous year, figures show.

That figure represents both the natural change in population – meaning deaths and births – and the flow of people entering and exiting the country.

The natural change last year was the biggest on record, with a fall of 731,000 – cushioned by the influx of people entering Japan, which provided an increase of 175,000, said Cabinet Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno in a news conference on Wednesday.

“It is essential to take firm measures to address the declining birthrate, which is a major factor in the decline in population, as one of the top priority issues to be addressed,” said Matsuno.

Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, as well as one of the highest life expectancies; in 2020, nearly one in 1,500 people in Japan were age 100 or older, according to government data.

That means a swelling elderly population, shrinking workforce, and not enough young people to fill in the gaps – posing a demographic crisis decades in the making.

The trend is seen across the country, with all of Japan’s 47 prefectures except Tokyo reporting a decline in residents last year, according to the data released Wednesday. One village in central Japan recorded just one newborn child in 25 years – a birth that was heralded as a miracle for the town’s elderly residents.

The situation is so dire that Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned lawmakers in January that the country is “on the brink of not being able to maintain social functions” due to the falling birth rate.

He added that child-rearing support was the government’s “most important policy,” and solving the issue “simply cannot wait any longer.”

Trouble ahead​

Some researchers and climate scientists argue that population decline could benefit our battered ecosystems and lower emissions as the climate crisis worsens. But it also spells trouble for countries like Japan, with fewer workers to fund pensions and healthcare, and fewer people to look after the elderly.

In April, Japan launched its new Children and Families Agency, which focuses on measures to support parents such as establishing more daycare centers, and provides youth services such as counseling.

Previous similar initiatives, often carried out by local authorities, have so far failed to turn things around.

Busy urban lifestyles and long working hours leave little time for some Japanese to start families, and the rising costs of living that mean having a baby is simply too expensive for many young people.

In 2022, Japan was ranked one of the world’s most expensive places to raise a child, according to research from financial institution Jefferies. And yet, the country’s economy has stalled since the early 1990s, meaning frustratingly low wages and little upward mobility.

The drop in the number of Japanese nationals in the past year also highlights the government’s deeply conservative views on immigration. Foreigners accounted for just 2.2% of the population in 2021, according to the Japanese government, compared to 13.6% in the United States.

These attitudes are widespread among the public, too; a 2021 study by the Pew Research Center found that about half of Japanese adults say having a diverse society makes their country a worse place to live – though this percentage is lower than in previous years.

Japan's population drops by half a million in 2022 | CNN

Japan's population has fallen for the 12th consecutive year, as deaths rise and the birth rate continues to sink, according to government data released Wednesday.

www.cnn.com