Japan's falling population rate

Japan’s birth rate has hit its lowest level since records began in 1899.

The number of births last year fell to a post-war low of 918,397 – a decline of 27,668 since the previous record low in 2017. The ministry predicts the number of births will continue to decline.

In 2018, 586,438 couples got married, down by 20,428 from the previous year and the lowest number since the end of Second World War.

The fertility rate - the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime - also declined for the third year in a row by 0.01 point to 1.42. The level needed to maintain the population is 2.07.

A ministry official said: “Economic conditions and the difficulty of simultaneously managing both work and child-rearing are considered the major reasons behind the declining birth rates. "

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japan-birth-rate-record-low-child-population-pregnancy-ageing-a8952116.html