Number of Japanese Children Decreases by 330,000 in One Year... 43 Consecutive Years of Decline

Child Ratio 11.3%... Down 0.2%P from Previous Year
Both Population and Ratio at All-Time Low... Higher than Han

On the 4th, children are leaving school at Wonmyeong Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The population of children under 14 in Japan decreased by 330,000 in one year, marking a decline for the 43rd consecutive year.

On the 4th, Japanese news agencies Kyodo News and Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported this citing the announcement from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. According to the Ministry, the population of children in Japan was estimated at 14.01 million as of the 1st of last month. This is a decrease of 330,000 compared to the previous year. With the child population declining for 43 consecutive years, it has shrunk to about half the level of the 1950s when it was close to 30 million.

The proportion of children in the total population was 11.3%, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous year. This contrasts with 1950 when children accounted for more than one-third of the total population. Both the population and the proportion recorded the lowest levels since statistics began in 1950.

Among the 47 prefectures, only Tokyo Metropolis and Kanagawa Prefecture had child populations exceeding one million. The child population in Osaka Prefecture fell below one million for the first time since related statistics began in 1970.

The region with the highest proportion of children was Okinawa Prefecture (16.1%), followed by Shiga Prefecture (13.0%) and Saga Prefecture (12.9%). The lowest proportion was in Akita Prefecture, at 9.1%.

Kyodo News explained that "the decline in the child population due to the decrease in births has become clear," and based on United Nations data, Japan ranks second lowest among 37 countries with populations over 40 million, following South Korea (11.2%). However, according to Statistics Korea, the proportion of youth under 14 in our country this year is 10.6%, which is lower than Japan's.