In less than 50 years, Japan has lost almost half of its children
These are the worrying figures from the Japanese government. In 1975, there were 27 million children under the age of 15 in Japan; at the beginning of April this year, there were just 14 million.
This is the 43rd consecutive year that the number of children in Japan has fallen, and they now represent just 11.3 per cent of the total population.
By way of comparison, there are 11.6 million children under the age of 15 in France, out of a population of 68.3 million, or 17%. Yet France is the European country where people are most concerned about the falling birth rate.
The falling birth rate is also the main problem in Japan, where it is one of the lowest in the world. Japan's population has fallen by almost 25 million in 25 years.
This is also the third year in a row that the number of children has fallen in every prefecture in Japan, which means that the Japanese government's efforts to boost the country's birth rate are having no effect for the time being.
The percentage of children under 15 is highest in Okinawa in southern Japan, where it is 16.1 per cent. The lowest rates are in the north, at 10.1 per cent in Hokkaido and 9.1 per cent in Akita prefecture.
The percentage of children in each country according to United Nations figures for the year 2023 has also been released. Japan has the second lowest rate among countries with more than 40 million inhabitants, behind South Korea. Italy, Spain and Germany follow with 12.1, 13.5 and 14 per cent respectively.
(MYukio/Source: The Asahi Shimbun/Photo: Jplenio/Pixabay)
