Japan records sharp drop in births by the end of 2021

Japan said that it has witnessed a record drop in births in 2021, according to government data revealed this Friday.

The number of births fell to 811,604 last year, representing the lowest level since censuses began in 1899, said the country’s health ministry.

Japan witnessed a drop of 29,231 from last year, the Japanese ministry said, noting that the number of deaths climbed to 1.43 million, for an overall population decline of 628,205, according to the same source.

The country’s fertility rate, which measures the expected number of births a woman over her lifetime, fell for the sixth consecutive year to 1.3, among the lowest worldwide.