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Report
No.230607 |
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- Topics - |
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Earlier Than Forecast, Japanese Population Started Dwindling in 2005 According to annual estimates of vital statistics published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), live births were less by some 10,000 than deaths among Japanese during the calendar year 2005. This results in natural decline of population for the first time since statistics had been taken, it was revealed on December 22, 2005. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research had predicted that the total population of Japan including immigrants would start shrinking in 2007, but the above estimates foretell of the arrival of 'A Society of Declining Population' one or two years earlier than the prediction. This will likely have impact on debate about social security systems such as pensions. The vital statistics calculates natural variations in the size of population, using the numbers of births and deaths, and does not count social variations such as out-migration from Japan and immigration of foreigners. Birth in 2005 was 1,067,000, further down by 44,000 from the record low birth in 2004. Death was 1,077,000, increasing by 48,000 year on year affected by death of the highly aged people in the outbreak of flu. Natural increase in population registered an order below 100,000 for the first time in 2004, when it increased by only 82,000. Analysis of the vital statistics (estimated annual figures) reveals that the total fertility rate (number of children to which a single women gives birth during her lifetime) in 2005 fell to around 1.26, which is the lowest on record, it was learned on December 28, 2005. MHLW will publish the final number on this in May or June 2006. |
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