According to government data released on Wednesday, the number of babies born in Japan to Japanese nationals in 2025 fell to a record low of 671,236. At the same time, the nation’s total fertility rate — the average number of children a woman is estimated to have in her lifetime — also dropped 0.01 percentage point to a new low of 1.14, continuing a long-term decline.
Japan Births Fall for 10th Consecutive Year
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said that births fell by 14,937, or 2.2%, marking the 10th consecutive year of decline. The number of births first dropped below 700,000 in 2024. The continued fall comes despite earlier projections by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, which in 2023 forecast that annual births would not fall into the 670,000 range until the 2040s.
One positive sign amid the country’s continuing birthrate decline was a modest increase in marriages nationwide. In 2025, 489,119 couples tied the knot, up 4,027 from the previous year. The average age at first marriage also edged down, with men marrying at 31.0 on average and women at 29.7, both lower than in 2024. Meanwhile, the number of divorces fell by 6,386 to 179,068, continuing a recent downward trend.
Deaths Decline for First Time in Five Years
A total of 1,589,489 deaths were reported in 2025, down 1.0% from the previous year. According to the data, it was the first decline in the annual death toll in five years. Despite the decrease, deaths still outnumbered births by 918,253, highlighting the scale of Japan’s demographic challenges. The country has now recorded 19 consecutive years of natural population decline, as deaths have exceeded births every year since 2007. The figures add to growing concerns over Japan’s shrinking and ageing population.
