Japan’s birth rate declined for the ninth consecutive year in 2024, reaching a new historic low as young people delay marriage and the number of elderly citizens continues to rise, according to official data released today.

According to these preliminary figures published by the government, the number of births fell again last year, reaching just 720,988—a 5% decrease compared to 2023.

This marks the lowest level recorded since 1899, when the Japanese government first began keeping records on the matter. Meanwhile, the number of deaths (1,620,000) increased by 1.8% compared to 2023.

Japan’s total population stood at 123.54 million in February, a 0.46% decline from the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs released last week.

This situation is creating increasingly serious challenges for Japan, leading to labor shortages across multiple sectors and putting the public healthcare system, social security, and pensions at risk.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has stated that addressing the demographic crisis is one of his top priorities, but no Japanese government has so far managed to reverse the trend.

Japan experienced a significant birth rate surge between 1971 and 1974, with around two million children born annually. However, the rising cost of education, economic stagnation, and changing lifestyles have discouraged young people from starting families.

The number of marriages in Japan increased by 2.2% in 2024, but this follows a steep decline in previous years—for example, in 2020, marriages dropped by 12.7%.

Unlike some European countries, very few children in Japan are born outside of marriage, meaning there is a strong correlation between the number of marriages and the birth rate.

These figures for Japan contrast with the situation in South Korea, where birth rates increased in 2024 for the first time in years, thanks to a rise in the number of marriages.