# The number of newborns in Japan is decreasing faster than projected, with annual births falling to another record low last year. According to government data 686-thousand-and-61 babies were born in Japan in 2024, a drop of 5.7-percent on the previous year and the first time since 1899 it fell below 700-thousand. Japan is one of several East Asian countries grappling with declining birth rates and an aging population. The country’s population of about 124-million people is projected to fall to 87-million by 2070, with 40-percent of the population over 65.
Japan’s annual births fall to record low as population emergency deepens