In 2023, Japan’s population went down by a lot, the biggest drop ever! The number of babies born that year was really low, hitting a record low. It was down by 5.1% from the year before. The government’s first numbers show that since 2022, the number of babies born stayed under 800,000.
This drop in babies being born is a big problem for Japan. It’s been happening since the 1970s. The government is worried because fewer babies mean fewer workers in the future. They’ve tried to help by giving money and making work hours better for parents. But these things haven’t helped much.
Experts say a few things are causing fewer babies. Raising kids is expensive. Some people want smaller families. Also, more women are working instead of having kids. The COVID-19 pandemic made things worse. Many couples didn’t want to have kids because they were worried about money and the future.
The government hoped to have more babies born by 2030. But that seems hard now. It’s expected that in 2023, only about 726,000 babies will be born. This means Japan‘s population might keep going down.
In short, Japan is having fewer babies, and that’s not good. With fewer workers in the future, it’s hard to keep the country going. Even though the government is trying to help, the number of babies being born keeps dropping.
