Japan, Australia Face Significant Declines in Birth Rate

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Japan’s population declined for the 15th consecutive year, prompting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to allocate as much as 3.6 trillion yen (US$22.3 billion) per year to reverse the trend, which, according to an analyst, would not be enough.

According to Japan’s Population Strategy Council, 744 of Japan’s 1,729 municipalities were “likely to vanish” by 2050 after its population decreased by more than 861,000 people.

In 2023, Japan saw 727,000 births, the lowest since records began in 1899.

“While Kishida’s administration is hesitant to address the initiative’s future burden on the public, the other unanswered question is whether funding alone can solve Japan’s decline in births. It appears unlikely that financial incentives alone will increase birth rates,” Yasuo Takao, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry at Curtin University, wrote on East Asia Forum.

Takao calls for the government to move beyond the traditional ‘standard family’ structure and adapt to changes in Japanese social values.

“An effective response to the crisis will require the Japanese government to adapt its policies to reflect evolving societal norms and to better support diverse family structures,” said the analyst.

“The current government fails to recognise the importance of revitalising society through diverse households and families. It needs to embrace diversity, for example, by ensuring the same family benefits to de facto relationships.”

Australia’s Births Lowest Since 2006

Advanced economies around the world seem to be facing baby recession crises amid cost-of-living pressures. Along with Japan, the land down under is also seeing a significant decline in births.

A KPMG Australia analysis showed that the country saw 289,100 babies born last year, materially dropping by 4.6 percent from 2022 and the lowest since 2006.

This also marks a notable decline from 315,200 in 2021, post-lockdown spike.

“We haven’t seen such a sharp drop in births in Australia since the period of economic stagflation in the 1970s, which coincided with the initial widespread adoption of the contraceptive pill,” said Terry Rawnsley, KPMG Urban Economist.

“Following the uncertainty of pandemic lockdowns people who had held off having children decided to start families. The record-low unemployment rate and the stimulus money that flowed into the economy had encouraged people to start having children again.”

Among the capital cities, Sydney had the most significant decline of 8.6 percent to 60,860 from 2019 levels.

Canberra held steady while only Tasmania saw an increase.

In this year’s budget, Australia’s Labor government introduced an expanded paid parental leave scheme and more investments in childcare education.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers noted that the measures are meant to encourage Australians to have more children.