Japan’s demographic crisis deepened again in 2025 as the number of births fell for the tenth consecutive year, underscoring the scale of the challenges facing the world’s fourth-largest economy. According to preliminary figures from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, only 705,809 babies were born in Japan last year, a 2.1 % drop from 2024 and the lowest total on record for the tenth straight year.
The decline occurred even as marriages ticked up slightly and divorces fell, suggesting that broader social and economic pressures are driving family-formation decisions. Deaths in 2025 remained high at around 1.6 million, meaning that Japan’s population continues to shrink. Preliminary estimates put the national population at about 122.86 million, down roughly 580,000 from the year before.
The persistent drop in births is already having ripple effects. Japan is grappling with labour shortages, rising costs for pensions and healthcare, and fewer working-age people to pay taxes, all while carrying one of the highest debt ratios among major economies. Rural towns are particularly hard hit, with abandoned homes and shrinking communities becoming a common sight.
Successive governments have introduced incentives, from childcare subsidies to local matchmaking efforts, yet none have significantly reversed the trend. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first woman premier, has described the situation as a “quiet state of emergency,” warning that the ongoing population decline could erode the nation’s vitality if it continues.
Debate over solutions is intensifying. Some analysts point to increased immigration as part of the answer to offset labour shortages, but political resistance remains strong. With births continuing to fall and the population ageing rapidly, Japan faces one of the steepest demographic trajectories in the world.
