Japan saw new births decline for the 10th straight year, government data showed on Thursday.
The country registered 705,809 newborn babies in 2025, lower than a year earlier and the fewest since records became available in 1899, the Health Ministry said, according to Kyodo News.
Last year, new births were down 2.1% from 2024 amid a rapidly graying population and increased anxiety over child-rearing due to the higher cost of living amid inflation.
The preliminary government data, however, showed the pace of decline "slowed" in 2024 from a year earlier.
The new data include births to Japanese nationals in Japan, foreign births in Japan and babies born to Japanese nationals overseas.
Population decline showed no signs of abating, with the natural decrease -- subtracting the number of births from deaths -- hitting a record high of 899,845, the ministry data showed.
According to the report, besides economic anxiety, more people appear to be choosing to marry and have children later in life, or not to marry at all, due to a shift in priorities.
