January 08, 2026
The number of Japanese births is set to hit its lowest level since record-keeping began over 100 years ago. Demographic experts believe there will be fewer than 670,000 newborns in 2025, falling short of even the government’s most pessimistic targets. The decline poses a challenge for Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as she tries to balance economic growth and restrictions on immigration. Falling birth rates are a trend particularly pronounced in East Asia: in South Korea, the population is expected to fall by two-thirds in the next century, while China’s will be cut in half.
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