Japan’s child population decreases to record low, lowest among heavily populated nations

10 years ago | Posted in: Japan, World | 835 Views

Japan have, for the 33rd straight year, recorded a decrease in the number of children under 15. This year though, the numbers have plunged to a record low of 16.33 million, around 160,000 less than last year, according to Japan’s internal affairs ministry. As of April 1, children under 15 made up 12.8 percent of the Japanese population, the lowest ratio among 30 nations with populations of at least 40 million, also according to data revealed by the ministry officials.

These numbers came from the national census research released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on May 4, a day before Japan celebrated Children’s Day as a national holiday. The ratio of children against Japan’s whole population has steadily been decreasing for 40 straight years since 1974, when at that time the ratio was 24.4 percent. By comparison, Japan’s 12.8 percent is visibly lower than the 19.5 percent in the United States, 16.4 percent in China and 15.1 percent in South Korea. Japan’s population of children has distinctively decreased every year since 1981. And starting 1997, senior citizens – technically those 65 years or older – have outnumbered children in Japan.

Japan’s population has been infamously known as an aging one, and if the country does not do something about it, it will reap the consequences – some of which are being felt right now. Japan leads the world in having elderly people employed, and the country also consequently suffers from strange statistics because of the huge number of aging people. For instance, Japan has a larger number of elderly shoplifters than teenagers. More and more Japanese men are also quitting their jobs to take care of their elderly parents. The Japanese government has tried to deal with the problem, but as we can see, more radical options would probably need to be tried for this situation to improve.

 

source: Japandailypress

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