According to estimates by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of children under the age of 15 as of April 1, 2017 was 15.71 million, decreased by 170,000 from 2016. By gender, men's 8.05 million people and girls 7,670,000 people. The proportion of children who exceeded one-third of the total population in 1950 was 12.4%, the lowest record ever, which is less than half of the population over 65 years old.
When comparing in countries with a population of over 40 million people, the proportion of children in the total population is the lowest ranking "Italy, South Korea, Germany" of "13% range", the first "elderly powers" crowning the world has been revealed . According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of babies born in the year of 2016 is less than 1 million for the first time since the start of statistics in 1899.
The decrease in the number of births is due to the fact that generations called "baby boomer juniors" are approaching their 40s, the current female population in their 20s to 30s is decreasing, the number of couples who produce second children is decreasing The situation that the declining birthrate is not stopped is highlighted once again.
