official data showed on Thursday, highlighting the challenges for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. A total of 705,809 babies were born in Japan, the preliminary health ministry data showed, down 2.1 percent from 2024. The data includes births to Japanese nationals in Japan, foreign births in Japan and babies born to Japanese nationals overseas. The world's fourth-biggest economy has one of the world's lowest birth rates and a falling population. This is already leading to a host of problems including labour shortages, a ballooning social security bill and fewer working people paying tax. This in turn is adding to Japan's huge debts. It already has the highest debt ratio among major economies.

Successive Japanese leaders -- including Takaichi, the country's first woman premier -- have promised to increase births but with limited success. "The declining birth rate and shrinking population are a quiet state of emergency that will gradually erode our country's vitality," Takaichi said in parliament last week. Takaichi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a two-thirds majority in February 8 snap elections. Increasing immigration would help reverse Japan's falling population and the associated problems in the labour market. Under pressure from the "Japanese first" Sanseito party, the right-wing Takaichi has however vowed tougher measures on immigration. (Bssnews)