Japan's Child Population Hits New Postwar Low
TOKYO -- AP -- May 4, 2006 -- The number of Japanese children has declined to a new post-World War II record low amid the nation's falling birthrate, a government report said Thursday.
As of April 1, the number of children aged 14 or below totaled 17.47 million, 180,000 fewer than a year earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in an annual survey, marking the 25th straight year of decline in the nation's child population.
The ratio of children in the age group to Japan's total population of 127.78 million also fell to 13.7%, the lowest since 1950 when the government began taking the statistics.
Japan's current ratio of children is believed to be the lowest in the world.
As of April 1, the number of children aged 14 or below totaled 17.47 million, 180,000 fewer than a year earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in an annual survey, marking the 25th straight year of decline in the nation's child population.
The ratio of children in the age group to Japan's total population of 127.78 million also fell to 13.7%, the lowest since 1950 when the government began taking the statistics.
Japan's current ratio of children is believed to be the lowest in the world.
posted by Blogmaster | 5:53 AM
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