Culture
According to official statistics, the number of babies born to Japanese citizens increased by 0.4% year-on-year to 320,458 in the first half of 2026, marking the first increase in the January–June period in 11 years.
According to official statistics, the number of babies born to Japanese citizens increased by 0.4% year-on-year to 320,458 in the first half of 2026, marking the first increase in the January–June period in 11 years. The figures, reported by Kyodo News, offer a rare sign of improvement in Japan’s prolonged demographic decline, although the country’s birth rate remains historically low. Japan, one of the world’s most rapidly ageing societies, is struggling to reverse its declining birth rate despite government efforts to encourage marriage and childbirth through financial incentives and expanded childcare support. Preliminary data from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, including births to foreign nationals, showed that 342,068 babies were born during the same period, an increase of 0.8% compared with a year earlier.
However, deaths reached 778,982 over the past six months, exceeding the number of births by 436,914 and highlighting the country’s continuing population decline. It is worth noting that Japan recorded 671,236 births among Japanese citizens in 2025, the lowest annual figure since comparable records began in 1899. The country’s total fertility rate, which represents the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime, fell to a record low of 1.14 in 2025, compared with 1.15 in 2024. Meanwhile, final census figures showed that Japan’s total population, including foreign residents, declined by 2.5% to 122.797 million in 2025, marking the third consecutive census in which the population has decreased. People aged 65 and above accounted for a record 29.4% of the population, highlighting growing pressure on the workforce, pension system and healthcare services.
