Preliminary demographic statistics released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare showed Japan recorded 342,068 births during the period from January to June 2026. This figure rose by 0.8% (an increase of 2,788 births) compared to the same period in 2025. Although this increase marks the first rise for the January-to-June total in 11 years, it remains the fifth consecutive year in which the number has fallen below 400,000 births.
اضافة اعلان
Meanwhile, the number of deaths fell by 6.9% to reach 778,982 cases, resulting in a natural population decline (the difference between births and deaths) of 436,914 people. Marriage rates, which serve as an indicator of future birth trends, saw a slight rise of 0.2%, reaching 238,979 cases.
The annual birth record had fallen below 800,000 births for the first time in 2022, and declined further in 2024 to below 700,000. It's worth noting that the preliminary figures for the January-to-June period include foreign nationals born in Japan and Japanese citizens born abroad, and the official figure, which will be released later and will cover only Japanese residents living in Japan, is expected to be lower than this number.
Resource: Al-Ghad.
