Japan Faces The Longest Child Population Reduction In History

JAKARTA The number of children's populations in Japan has decreased again in a row until the 44th year. According to the latest data released by the government on Sunday, May 5, this is the lowest figure in history.

Reporting from the Japan Today page, this downward trend continues despite the Japanese government's efforts to reduce the sustainable birth rate.

Based on data from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Communication, as of April 1, 2025, the number of children under 15 years of age, including foreigners, is estimated to be 13.66 million people, or a decrease of around 350 thousand from the previous year.

Children's proportions to the total national population also decreased by 0.2 percentage points to only 11.1 percent, the lowest figure since data began to be recorded in 1950.

According to United Nations (UN) data, although the survey time is different, Japan is now the second lowest in the ratio of children to the population among 37 countries with a minimum population of 40 million. Only South Korea recorded a lower ratio of 10.6 percent.

The Japanese government has set the handling of the birth rate crisis as a national priority. Various policies have been implemented, including financial additional assistance for families with children, expansion of child care services, and the implementation of flexible work systems for parents. However, these measures have so far not succeeded in stopping the downward trend that has been going on for decades.

In detail, there are 6.99 million boys and 6.66 million girls. Based on age, the age group of 12 to 14 years amounts to 3.14 million, while the age group 0 to 2 years is only 2.22 million. This data shows a clear trend that fewer children are born every year.

The decline in the population of children in Japan has occurred consistently since 1982. The peak number of children occurred in 1954 with 29.89 million people, while the second birth explosion was recorded in the period 1971 to 1974.

Government data also showed that as of October 1 last year, the number of children decreased in all 47 prefectures in Japan compared to the previous year. Only Tokyo and its neighboring prefecture Kanagawa, still have a population of more than one million people.