Number of Births Hits Record Low: Reduce Factors That Make People Hesitant about Marriage

Editorial

17:37 JST, June 6, 2026

With the decline in the number of births showing no signs of slowing, the situation has continued to be serious.

However, some local governments have managed to reverse the declining birth rate, albeit slightly, by steadily implementing measures. The central and local governments should analyze these cases and apply the lessons learned to future measures.

According to the 2025 Vital Statistics released by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the number of babies born to Japanese citizens in Japan was 671,236, and the total fertility rate — which indicates the average number of children a woman is likely to give birth to in her lifetime — was 1.14. Both figures marked record lows for the 10th consecutive year.

If this trend continues, Japan’s economy will shrink, possibly making it difficult to maintain national power.

In 2023, the government adopted the Children’s Future Strategy, which focuses on the provision of benefits including expanded financial support for child-rearing. Currently, it is working to implement various measures to tackle the low birth rate in line with this strategy, but it does not appear that these efforts are yielding results.

However, there are some figures in these demographic statistics that warrant attention.

Over a three-year period from 2022 to 2024, the number of births continued to fall by an average of more than 5% annually nationwide, but the rate of decline stood at 2.2% in 2025. There were 13 prefectures that saw their total fertility rate increase from the previous year. In 2024, no prefectures exceeded the previous year’s fertility rate.

The emergence of these positive signs is believed to be related to the number of marriages. Last year, there were 489,119 marriages, increasing for the second consecutive year.

Miyazaki Prefecture, which ranked second nationwide with a total fertility rate of 1.46, launched a program in fiscal 2025 to subsidize fees for using matchmaking apps developed by private-sector companies, targeting people who wish to marry.

Whether one gets married is a personal choice, and many people in recent years do not wish to marry. Some people want to get married but do not have the opportunity to meet anyone. In light of this, matchmaking apps that provide opportunities to meet others who wish to marry have drawn attention.

Kagawa Prefecture, which has seen both the fertility rate and the number of births exceed the previous year’s figures, has established about 200 hubs where expectant and new mothers, as well as parents raising children, can stop by for purposes such as talking with childcare workers and other experts about child-rearing.

These examples are likely to serve as a reference for other local governments. The central government should also support their initiatives.

It is also crucial to ensure that people who wish to marry can secure stable income for now and the future.

According to a survey by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, among male respondents aged 30 to 34, about 60% of regular employees were married, while the figure stood at about 20% for non-regular employees. Companies also need to make efforts, such as converting non-regular employees to regular employees if non-regular status was not their choice.

 (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 6, 2026)