Japan experienced the largest drop in the number of citizens last year [1], with all 47 prefectures seeing declines for the first time.
New data from the internal affairs ministry revealed that the population of Japanese nationals stood at around 122.42 million as of Jan. 1, a decrease of over 800,000 compared to a year prior and the 14th straight year-on-year drop.
According to the data, the number of births among Japanese nationals last year was 771,801, the lowest since the start of the survey in 1979. Social and economic reasons have been largely blamed for the country’s low birthrate.
The administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to roll out an “unprecedented” policy package to support families to encourage more people to have children.
“Balancing work and child care is difficult in Japan,” said Yoshinori Hiroi, a professor at Kyoto University’s Kokoro Research Center, citing the realities of generally long working hours and poor support for women entering the workforce as some of the main culprits.
“The employment and living conditions of the younger generation are unstable, making it difficult for them to envision getting married and raising children.”