Photo/Illutration The number of babies in Japan continues to decline. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The number of children under 15 years old in Japan is 13.66 million, 350,000 fewer than in 2024 and the lowest on record, the internal affairs ministry said May 4.

The figure as of April 1 represented the 44th consecutive year of decline and fell below 14 million for the first time since 1950, when comparable statistics were first collected, according to a ministry report released ahead of Children’s Day on May 5.

The ratio of children under 15 to the total population was 11.1 percent, the 51st consecutive year of decline.

According to the ministry, the number of children in Japan is now 46 percent of 1950’s total of 29.43 million.

The number of boys as of April 1 was 6.99 million, down 180,000 from the previous year, while the number of girls decreased by 170,000 to 6.66 million.

By age, the largest group, or 3.14 million, were between 12 and 14 years old.

The number fell as the age decreased. Only 2.22 million children were between 0 and 2 years old.

The percentage of children to overall population was 35.4 percent in 1950. After gradually declining, the ratio rose slightly during the second baby boom of 1971-74, but the percentage has continued to drop since 1975.

As of Oct. 1, 2024, the number of children declined from the previous year in all 47 prefectures.

Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture each had more than 1 million children.

Akita Prefecture had the lowest percentage of children, at 8.8 percent, followed by Aomori Prefecture, at 9.8 percent, and Hokkaido, at 9.9 percent.

The highest ratio was 15.8 percent in Okinawa Prefecture.

According to a ministry analysis of United Nations data on 37 countries with populations of 40 million or more, South Korea has the lowest percentage of children to total population, at 10.6, followed by Japan’s 11.1 percent, Italy’s 11.9 percent, and Spain’s 12.9 percent.

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