Japan’s birth rate was at a record low in 2023

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The birth rate in Japan fell to a record low last year, which once again highlighted the demographic problem.

In 2023, 758,631 children were born, which is 5.1% less than the previous year, Reuters reports.

The number of marriages also decreased by 5.9%: for the first time in 90 years, they were less than 500 thousand.

Fewer marriages are a harbinger of further population decline, as there are few illegitimate children in Japan.

The birth rate in Japan has been falling for the eighth year in a row.

The country’s government has said it will take “unprecedented measures” to tackle the fertility crisis, such as expanding kindergartens and raising wages for young workers.

“The next six years to 2030, when the number of young people will decline rapidly, will be the last chance to reverse this trend,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

Also, in Japan, they are already starting to fight loneliness with the help of modern technologies.

According to the Agency for Children and Family Affairs, as of the end of March last year, 31 of Japan’s 47 prefectures offered artificial intelligence-based matchmaking services. In December, the Tokyo authorities joined them.

And Shiga Prefecture launched an online marriage support center as early as 2022. As of the end of January, 13 couples decided to get married through this online center. Six of them are with AI-suggested partners based on a person’s preferences.

It will be recalled that in 2023, one third fewer children were born in Ukraine than before the full-scale war.