Japan's child population falls for 44th straight year to new record

Tokyo, May 5 (KYODO): Japan's estimated child population has shrunk for the 44th straight year to a new record low, government data showed Sunday, as the country struggles to reverse the declining trend of births.

The number of children under 15, including foreign residents, was 13.66 million as of April 1, down 350,000 from a year ago, according to data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications before the national Children's Day holiday on Monday.

The ratio of children to the overall population fell 0.2 percentage points to 11.1 per cent, also the lowest since comparable data became available in 1950.

According to U.N. data, although the date of the survey differs, Japan has the second lowest ratio of children among 37 nations with a population of at least 40 million, only behind South Korea at 10.6 per cent.

The Japanese government has put a priority on fighting the country's rapidly declining birth rate and implemented initiatives such as providing more financial assistance to child-rearing households, expanding daycare services and allowing flexible workstyles for parents, but the initiatives have not stopped the decades-long decline.

By gender, there were 6.99 million boys and 6.66 million girls.

By age, 3.14 million children were 12 to 14, compared with 2.22 million in the 0 to 2 age group, indicating a continuing trend of fewer children being born.

Japan's child population has been falling continuously since 1982, having peaked in 1954 at 29.89 million, with a second baby boom observed between 1971 and 1974.

Government data also showed that as of Oct. 1 last year, the child population fell from a year ago in all 47 prefectures. The figure exceeded 1 million only in Tokyo and neighbouring Kanagawa Prefecture.