Japan Records First Half-Year Birth Increase Amid Population Decline
The data offered a rare indication of improvement in Japan’s long-running demographic downturn, although the number of births remains at historically low levels.
Japan, which has one of the world’s most rapidly aging populations, has struggled to reverse declining birth rates despite introducing financial incentives to encourage marriage and childbearing and expanding childcare assistance.
Preliminary figures from the Health Ministry, which also include births to foreign nationals, recorded 342,068 newborns during the first half of 2026, representing a 0.8% increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
However, the number of deaths stood at 778,982 over the six-month period, surpassing births by 436,914 and highlighting the continued contraction of the country's population.
The latest figures follow a record low in 2025, when Japan registered 671,236 births among Japanese residents, the smallest annual total since comparable records began in 1899.
The country's total fertility rate, which measures the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime, also reached a historic low of 1.14 in 2025, down from 1.15 the previous year.
Meanwhile, finalized census data showed that Japan’s population, including foreign residents, fell 2.5% to 122.97 million in 2025. This marked the third consecutive census in which the country recorded a population decline.
The aging trend has also continued, with people aged 65 and older accounting for a record 29.4% of the population. The growing share of elderly residents is placing increasing pressure on Japan’s workforce, pension system and healthcare services.
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