Japan’s Births Fall for 10th Year Adding to Demographic Strain

Births in Japan fell for a 10th straight year in 2025 underscoring the demographic strain Japan faces as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pursues new measures to counter the decline.

The number of newborns dropped 2.1% from a year earlier to about 706,000, the Labor Ministry reported Thursday in preliminary population data. Deaths fell 0.8% to roughly 1.6 million for the same period, the report said.