The number of births in Japan has fallen to another record low, underscoring the growing challenge of how to shoulder ballooning social security costs for an aging society with what’s already become an ever shrinking pool of tax-paying workers.
The number of newborns in 2024 fell 5% from the previous year to 720,988, extending a nine-year streak of declines, according to preliminary population data released Thursday by the health ministry. The reading marked the lowest tally since such records began in 1899.
Deaths rose 1.8% to a record-high 1.62 million for the same period, resulting in the biggest-ever annual decline in total population, the report showed.
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