New Analysis
Japan saw the fewest number of births in its recorded history last year, health ministry data showed.
The number of newborns in the country fell to 799,728 in 2022, down 5.1 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on Feb. 28, marking a seven straight year of decline and the lowest since it began record-keeping 120 years ago.
Meanwhile, Japan’s rapid birth decline came eight years earlier than predicted, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. The country’s annual birth number was not expected to drop below the 800,000 threshold until 2030….