Japan’s births fall for 10th year, adding to demographic strain

TOKYO – Births in Japan

fell for a 10th straight year in 2025,

underscoring the demographic strain Japan faces as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pursues new measures to counter the decline. 

The number of newborns dropped 2.1 per cent from a year earlier to about 706,000, the Labour Ministry reported on Feb 26 in preliminary population data. Deaths fell 0.8 per cent to roughly 1.6 million for the same period, the report said.

Ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race in October, Ms Takaichi proposed tax breaks for babysitters and household help, and corporate tax cuts for firms operating in-house childcare centres. Japan’s first female leader has also pledged to introduce a national qualification for childcare workers and improve their pay and working conditions.

At the opening of the current parliamentary session last week, Ms Takaichi said the government would ease costs tied to pregnancy and childbirth, including prenatal check-ups and delivery, though none of these proposals has yet been implemented.

The preliminary tally is broad in scope, including babies born to foreign residents in Japan and Japanese nationals living overseas. The narrower finalised figure for 2024, which counts only Japanese nationals living in Japan, was about 686,000, the lowest since such records began in 1899. The final number is typically released in September.

Some argue that the government’s attention has shifted towards other priorities, such as national security and policies on foreigners, compared with previous administrations. 

Former prime minister Fumio Kishida in 2023

rolled out a 3.6 trillion yen (S$29 billion) childcare package

he billed as “unprecedented measures to tackle the falling birth rate”, a stance later continued by his successor Shigeru Ishiba.

Under Ms Takaichi, the child policy has been folded into a broader population agenda that also addresses foreigners. 

Mr Hitoshi Kikawada, the minister tasked with tackling the shrinking population, also oversees 11 other portfolios, including territorial disputes and food safety, raising questions about whether the birth rate issue has been put on the back burner. 

Japan is not alone in trying to reverse demographic decline. In South Korea, data released on Feb 25 showed

the fertility rate rose for a second straight year in 2025

as marriages recovered from a prolonged slump, supported by incentives aimed at easing child-rearing costs. 

US President Donald Trump has proposed a US$5,000 (S$6,300) baby bonus, while China plans to provide an annual 3,600 yuan (S$665) allowance per child under age three. Bloomberg