<h5>What is Japan’s population?</h5><p>Japan’s population has declined. Data says the population of Japanese citizens declined by about 8,00,000 people (0.65%) to 122.4 million in 2022 from the previous year. This marks the 14th consecutive year of population decline.</p><p>Japan's population has progressively declined since peaking in 2008. The reason behind this is the declining birthrate. However, Japan’s foreign resident population has reached a record high of about three million people.</p><p>The number of deaths in 2022 (1.56 million) was around twice the number of births (7,71,000). This is the greatest total population decline since data collection began in 1968.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/why-is-japan-s-population-declining%2FJapan%20crowd.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=96bb6b0d-9f8e-4b66-b3f7-585f04f6a424"><figcaption>Japanese people in a market. Photo by Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0</figcaption></figure><h5>What’s the reason behind the declining population?</h5><p>Japan has the world's fastest-ageing population. Meanwhile, the country’s birth rate began to fall in the 1970s. According to a 2022 study, about one-fifth of males and approximately 15% of women in Japan didn’t want to marry. Also, about one-third of men and one-fifth of women in their forties had never married.</p><p>Many young Japanese also prefer having a good career and freedom instead of getting married and having children. Also, there are economic concerns regarding raising a child. Raising a child costs money. Japan is the third most costly country in the world to raise children, following China and South Korea.</p><p>The country’s average annual salary has also not increased much since the late 1990s. So, many adults don’t want to have children. These are some reasons why the population of the country is declining.</p><h5>Why is this a problem?</h5><figure class="image"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/why-is-japan-s-population-declining%2FJapanese%20elder.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=af5a1b89-a456-4d5b-bcf9-7e72245782fd"><figcaption>An elderly person working in a shop in Japan. Photo by Wikimedia Commons / CC display 2.0</figcaption></figure><p>A declining population is not good for a country as young people are required to take a country forward. When the previous generation turns old, the younger generation takes care of them and the country. If there is a population decline, it can affect a country’s development.</p><h5>What is the government doing about it?</h5><p>Japan’s government, led by Prime Minister (PM) Fumio Kishida, has proposed some initiatives to encourage more people to have children. The PM recently started a nationwide campaign to support children and families. The government will raise child allowances and make more efforts to eliminate child poverty and abuse.</p><p>New fathers will be encouraged to take leave to care for their newborn child. The government will also spend more to develop preschool facilities so that working parents can return to work. Parents will also receive tax benefits to increase their savings. The government hopes these are some ways to increase Japan’s population.</p>

The population decline is worrying the Japanese government.

Why Is Japan’s Population Declining?

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Why Is Japan’s Population Declining?

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