The number of newborns in Japan is decreasing faster than projected, with the number of annual births falling to another record low last year, according to government data released on Wednesday. 

The Health Ministry said 686,061 babies were born in Japan in 2024, a drop of 5.7 per cent on the previous year and the first time the number of newborns fell below 700,000 since records began in 1899. 

It’s the 16th straight year of decline. It’s about one-quarter of the peak of 2.7 million births in 1949 during the postwar baby boom.