Number of newborns in Japan reached record low last year

Pandemic puts marriage and parenthood plans on hold

Preliminary figures show the number of births in Japan in 2021 fell 3.4% from a year earlier to 842,897, a record low for the sixth consecutive year.

Nikkei staff writers

February 25, 2022 19:39 JST

TOKYO - The number of babies born in Japan declined to a record low last year, government data revealed on Friday, as the coronavirus pandemic put weddings and couples' plans for parenthood on hold.

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced that the number of births in 2021 fell 3.4% from a year earlier to 842,897. The figure has been on a downward trend and declined to a new record low for the sixth consecutive year.