Japan's population has been shrinking for 15 years, with huge implications for the country's economy, national defense, and culture. Now, policymakers are working to boost birth rates.

In 2024, 720,988 babies were born in the country, marking the ninth consecutive year of decline in child births.

Japan’s top business lobby reported that workers at affiliated companies won pledges for pay hikes exceeding 5% for a second ...

Japan’s estimated child population has shrunk for the 44th straight year to a record low, government data showed Sunday, as the country grapples with a demographic crisis underscored by falling birth ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...

The mixed wage and spending data highlights Japan's challenging growth outlook ... The consumer inflation rate the ministry uses to calculate real wages, which includes fresh food prices but ...

TOKYO – Japan’s Health Ministry is set to eliminate out-of-pocket payments associated with child delivery, possibly from April 2026, to address the country’s declining birth rate.

Japan lags far behind other big economies with an index for its real average annual wages showing almost no growth between 1995 and 2021, according to IMF data. That compares with growth rates of ...

"The continuing slide in the birth rate clearly indicates our current policy isn't working at all." Ninety-two percent of Japan's population lives in urban areas, a way of living that Okada sees ...

The Japanese government is likely to establish 1% growth in real wages as its first-ever official target for pay increases, a ...

Japan is likely to cover parents’ hospital fees for childbirth from April 2026 as the country struggles to reverse its falling birth rate. A panel of experts tasked with examining ways to ease ...