Children Keep on Reduced

A demographic problem of Japan was reconfirmed on May 5^th, Children’s Day. According to the survey conducted by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications at April 1^st, the number of children in Japan, 14 years old or younger, was reduced to 15.7 million, marking consecutive reduction for 36 years. Although it included foreign residents, the number was 170 thousand smaller than in last year. Newly born babies will suffer from heavy burden for taking care of a huge number of aged people in Japanese society.

Children in Japan occupied 12.4% of whole population, marking consecutive reduction for 43 years. The number and ratio of children marked new low, which was the smallest after 1950 when the survey started. The number of boys was 8.05 million, while girls marked 7.67 million. For a serious phenomenon for Japanese demography, the number got smaller in lower age than in higher one. While the number of children in the age of 12 to 14 was 3.35 million, children in 0 to 2 years old were 2.94 million. It is likely that the population in Japan will further be reduced.

Among 47 Prefectures all over Japan, it was only Tokyo that marked increase of children. Other Prefectures kept on losing the number of children, except Okinawa that maintained it. Ratio to prefectural population was the highest in Okinawa, that shared 17.2%. The lowest ratio was in Akita, where only 10.3% were 14 years old or younger. Main reason of the increase in Tokyo was natural rise of newly born babies.

The year that marked the biggest number of children was 1954, marking consecutive reduction thereafter. While the number slightly increased in the Second Baby Boom in 1971 to 1974, it again kept on being reduced from 1982. The number of aged people in 65 years old or older exceeded that of children in 14 years old or younger in 1997 for the first time. It became a realistic idea that super aged society would be coming soon.

Why are Japanese women so reluctant to giving births? It is easy. That is because Japanese government does not deliver effective policy for supporting mothers. With the policy of broadening the gap between the rich and poor, more children are suffering from serious poverty. Children in poverty go to school without having breakfast, have no reliable consultant about their private life or do not receive enough opportunity for higher education. Their parents tend to have temporary job, alienated from ordinary employment.

Cabinet Office decided to increase index for checking children’s poverty from 25 points to 33. That included ratio of not having breakfast or that of not receiving money from ex-spouse. It is a governmental effort to improve guidelines for children’s poverty in 2014. However, as long as the government leaves poverty gap behind, that demographical problem will remain.