Japan, the third largest economy in the world, has the lowest birth rate -

Tokyo: The birth rate in Japan, known as the third largest economy in the world, has fallen to the lowest level. In 2022, less than 0.8 million babies were reportedly born in Japan. Besides, the fertility rate of women in Japan has also decreased and seems to come down to 1.3. While the birth rate and fertility decline, the death rate has increased by about 9%. Just last month, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, pointing to the birth rate and population decrease, had seriously made aware that Japan would fail to stand up as a society.

Moreover, Japan’s Ministry of Health released population statistics on Tuesday. It said Japan’s number of newborn babies dropped to 799,728 in 2022. Compared to 2012, it has decreased by 5.1%. This marks the first time since 1899 that the number of newborn babies in Japan has fallen below 800,000. Japan’s population and birth rate have begun to fall since the 1980s, and the figures for 2022 are at a historic low.

There have been restrictions on refugees in Japan, and also to keep the population stable, the country’s female fertility rate needs to be 2.1. However, Japanese women’s fertility has been steadily declining, with the rate dropping to 1.3% last year. At the same time, it emerges that the number of senior citizens in Japan and the death rate have been increasing. In 2022, 1.58 million people died in Japan. Compared to the year 2021, it has increased by 8.9%. Besides, considering the population, Japan has the highest number of elderly citizens in the world.

Furthermore, experts have warned that Japanese society will suffer the serious consequences of the low birth rate, declining population, and increasing proportion of elderly citizens. In the near future, the manpower in Japan will decrease rapidly, and the number of taxpayers will also decrease. Simultaneously, on the other hand, analysts and media pointed out that the expenditure on elderly citizens would continue to increase, putting a heavy burden on the economy.

The Japanese government has taken this issue seriously. Last month the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, tried to draw the attention of the country’s people to this. Additionally, he warned that if the birth rate and the population continue to decline, Japan will fail as a society in the future. At the same time, Kishida also made it realise that the time has come to solve this entire problem and take concrete steps towards solving it, and if nothing were done now, it would never be possible in the future. In addition, the Japanese government has set up a separate department to supervise the birth rate and population and has allocated nearly 35 billion dollars. There has been an indication to use this fund as a financial provision for a child’s birth and post-birth expenses.

It has emerged that along with Japan, the leading economies of East Asia, such as China and South Korea, have also been facing a major decline in birth rate and population. Recent reports say South Korea’s birth rate has dropped to 0.78 per woman, which marks a global low.

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