China
22:18, 02-Jun-2017
Japan's 2016 newborn hits record lowest point since 1899
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A government survey showed on Friday that the Japanese population dropped at its fastest pace in 2016, with less than a million babies born, while over 1.3 million people died.
According to a report released by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, a total of 976,979 babies were born in 2016 in Japan, its lowest number and the first time less than a million people were born since records began in 1899.
Meanwhile, 1,307,765 people died in 2016, resulting in a record drop of 330,786 in the population, according to the report.
Japan has been suffering from a trend of population decrease for decades, with its birthrate in 2016 falling to 7.8 births per 1,000 persons, the lowest level since 1899.
Japan's number of new born in 2016 was less than 1 million for the first time since records began in 1899. /VCG Photo
Japan's number of new born in 2016 was less than 1 million for the first time since records began in 1899. /VCG Photo
Meanwhile, the country's fertility rate, which refers to the average number of children a woman will bear in her lifetime, dropped to 1.44 in 2016, down 0.01 point from a year earlier.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that he wants to halt the slide and maintain Japan's population at 100 million people by 2060 by raising the fertility rate from 1.4 births per woman to 1.8 by the end of fiscal 2025, among other measures.
Earlier government estimates, however, showed that population of Japan could fall to 88.1 million by 2065, almost a third less than the 127.1 million in 2015.
(Source: Xinhua)