No Country for Children: Number of Japanese households with kids fall below 10 million for first time

The number of households with kids in Japan has declined drastically, with the number falling below 10 million in 2022 for the first time since 1986. Data provided by the government on Tuesday throws light on Japan’s rapidly declining birth rate which has plummeted the country’s overall birth rate. Households with children below 18 dropped to 9.917 million, down by 3.4 per cent since 2019, according to data released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Almost 49.3 per cent of these households have one child while 38 per cent have two. Only 17.7 per cent of families have two or more children in their household. Japan’s plummeting birth rate In June, the health ministry released another data that showed that Japan’s birth rate dropped for the seventh consecutive year last year. Reports blame the pandemic as one of the primary reasons for contributing to the country’s falling birth rate. The number of newborns in Japan slid 5 percent to 770,747 last year, a new low, while the number of deaths shot 9 percent higher to a record 1.57 million, the data showed. More than 47,000 deaths in Japan last year were caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Japan’s declining population The Japanese government released data in April revealing a rise in death and a drop in population for the 12th consecutive year. In fact, Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. At the same time, it also has the highest life expectancies, in 2020, for example, nearly 1,500 people in Japan crossed the age of 100. Researchers and policymakers are apprehensive about this decline as it could have a direct impact on the country’s economy. However, some climate scientists say that it could be a boon for the environment as a lower population would mean lower emissions. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook _,_  Twitter  and  Instagram _._