According to statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the estimated number of children under 15 of age in Japan has fallen to 16.3 million, marking the 33rd consecutive year of decreases.

The government and municipalities are continuously devising new measures to turn around the falling birthrate, but the decline has not stopped.

By prefecture, Okinawa has the highest ratio of children with 17.6 percent, and Akita Prefecture the lowest with 10.9 percent of its population. A ministry official commented that “Okinawa has a higher ratio of people who are in their chid-raising years, while Akita has relatively more seniors.”

Only two prefectures had more children than previous year. The number of children in Tokyo rose by 9,000, and Okinawa had an increase of 1,000.

• 
• NO DATA