The Japanese government data shows the country's birth rate fell to a new low for the eighth straight year in 2023TOKYO -- Japan’s birth rate fell to a new low for the eighth straight year in 2023, according to Health Ministry data released on Wednesday. A government official described the situation as critical and urged authorities to do everything they can to reverse the trend. According to the latest statistics, Japan's fertility rate — the average number of babies a woman is expected to have in her lifetime — stood at 1.2 last year. Separately, the data shows that the number of marriages fell by 6% to 474,717 last year, something authorities say is a key reason for the declining birth rate. Takahide Kiuchi, an executive economist at Nomura Research Institute, said the measures fall short of addressing the problem.

Source: ABC News June 06, 2024 03:49 UTC