Japan's birth rate in 2025 will likely fall below even the most pessimistic forecasts.

Preliminary data suggests 2025 will see fewer than 670,000 babies, the lowest since records began in 1899. Demographers had expected 749,000, and did not project births to fall so low until 2041.

Population decline in Japan is accelerating.

My guess is than more than 1.7 million Japanese people will have died in 2025. Also higher than expected.

The interesting thing is that where I live in Tokyo and what I can see is that schools, parks, shops, restaurants are full of kids. Unlike China where there are massive closures of primary schools and upper schools are constantly being merged.

There is something different about the population decline in Japan and I don’t think it’s all bad. I’m not a Malthusian, but I don’t think there is this overbearing need to have endlessly growing numbers of useless mouths to feed in the world.

Technology has and is solving some of the primary reasons of having more people, which is for labor and production necessary to improve standards of living. We don’t need to do that anymore, but we do need more high quality individuals that can expand civilized societies.

Good luck

https://www.newsweek.com/japan-births-lowest-records-began-11278603