Number of newborns in Japan rises in first half of 2015

The number of babies born in Japan in the January-to-June period rose 2.4 percent from a year earlier to 508,802, government data showed Thursday, suggesting it would lead to the first annual increase in
five years.

The country’s population has been declining as the proportion of elderly people rises. The number of births has been decreasing since 1949, when it peaked at about 2.7 million.

The figure for the first half rose by about 12,000, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said in a preliminary report. If babies are born at a similar pace in the second half, it could mark the first year-on-year rise since 2010.

The ministry remained cautious about whether an economic improvement or measures to address the falling birthrate would help to halt the downward population trend, given that the number of women in their late teens to 40s, normally considered as of childbearing age, has been declining.

Source: japantimes