Japan's marriage and fertility rates at record lows

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare released data on Wednesday that showed a national drop in fertility rates for the eighth year in a row, marking a record low. The national figure suggests women have 1.2 births during their lifetimes, a 0.06 drop from 2022. Regional rates show fertility in Tokyo dropping below 1.0 births for the first time ever.

The total number of births in Japan also dropped nearly 6 percent in 2023, according to the health agency. Officials recorded 727,277 births to Japanese citizens in 2023, a 5.6 percent drop from the previous year. The average age of a first-time mother had risen to 31 years old. Marriages have also hit a record low, with just under four marriages per 1,000 people in 2023, according to the ministry’s data.

What’s the response to the data? Japan’s legislature amended a law to strengthen financial support for families by expanding monthly child allowances the same day the ministry released the 2023 data. Politicians have attempted to increase birth rates for some time, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida establishing a Children and Families Agency last year. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said dropping birthrates was a critical situation and predicted Japan only had until 2030 to reverse the trend.

Dig deeper: Read Chiara Lamberti’s report in WORLD Magazine on declining birth rates in Italy.