Overview
- The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reported on Thursday that 671,236 babies were born in 2025, the fewest since records began in 1899, and the total fertility rate fell to 1.14, the lowest since 1947.
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the result 'a quiet state of emergency' and pledged measures to raise young people’s take-home pay and boost support for isolated childrearing while noting she has been in office seven months.
- Regional data show wide variation with Tokyo recording the lowest prefectural fertility rate at 0.96 and Okinawa the highest at 1.52, and Hokkaido posting 21,802 births and a TFR of 1.00.
- Local officials warn of concrete capacity problems that could deter births, with Hokkaido reporting only 26 municipalities had delivery-capable medical facilities as of April 1 last year.
- Analysts say the decline is unfolding about 15 years faster than a 2023 projection, raising near-term risks to labor supply and public finances and increasing calls for rapid, region-specific policy action.