Aging Japan’s Fertility Rate Drops Again to Record Low
- Population shrinking faster as number of deaths also rises
- Aging society fueling Japan’s debt, causing labor shortages
Japan’s shortage of babies comes amid a worldwide decline in fertility.
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Japan’s fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.2 last year, in an eighth consecutive decline that underscores the challenges faced by the world’s most elderly country.
The figure, an indication of the average number of children a woman is likely to produce over her lifetime, dropped below 1 in Tokyo, according to data published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on Wednesday.