The data show that Japan's efforts to encourage couples to raise more children have been subject to higher urgency for the first time since the start of records more than a century ago.

According to government data released this week, the number of births in 2024 reached 686,061, a 5.7% decrease from the previous year, with the lowest statistics being the lowest since the first time it was kept in 1899. The data do not include babies born to foreign residents.

The Ministry of Health said fertility rate - the average number of children in a woman's life also fell to a record 1.15, down from 1.20 in 2023. This is much lower than the 2.1 rate required to keep the population stable. The ministry said 1.6 million deaths were recorded in 2024, an increase of 1.9% from the same period last year.

Birth and fertility rates have declined for nine consecutive years, although the number of marriages has risen slightly last year, which is the first time it has dropped to half a million.

The number of marriages – a key factor affecting birth trends in a country with relatively few children – increased to 485,063 for the first time in two years, an increase of 10,322 from the same period last year. But the downward trend seen since the 1970s remained the same.

Since reaching its second baby boom in 1973, Japan's birth rate has been declining, below 1 million in 2016 and below 800,000 in 2022.

According to Kyodo News, the latest data will make officials uncomfortable, as the birth rate has dropped to the 680,000 range compared to the National Institute of Population and Social Security forecasts.

If the current trend continues, Japan's population is about 124 million expected to drop to 87 million by 2070, when 40% of the population was 65 years old or older.

As the country seeks to promote military forces to address potential threats from China and North Korea, population decline and aging may have serious implications for economic and national security.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described Japan's demographic as a "silent state of emergency" and recently announced measures to increase birth rates, including expanding child allowances and free high school education, and guarantees that couples receive 100% of their take-home salary while simultaneously receiving a guarantee of 100% of their childcare salary.

Ishiba's predecessor Fumio Kishida warned that the decline in birth rates combined with an increase in deaths threatens Japan's ability to "function as a society", adding that the country has reached a "now or never" moment to resolve its population crisis.

However, successive government attempts to relieve financial stress on couples have little effect, and statistics show that people continue to get married later in life, a trend that leads to smaller families.

The government has been criticized for focusing on married couples rather than young singles. Many believe that employment prospects and job security, rising cost of living and corporate culture make it difficult for female employees to become working mothers.

A 2023 survey by the Nippon Foundation found that only 16.5% of people aged 17 to 19 think they would get married, although a larger percentage would like to do so.