A record number of babies were born to foreign parents in Japan last year, according to new government statistics, amid cautious efforts to fill the gaps left by the country’s rapidly aging population.
Why It Matters
Japan faces an uncertain future as its birthrate, as in many high- and middle-income countries, continues to decline. People over age 65 now make up roughly 30 percent of the population of 125 million, raising fears about the long-term vitality of the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Long known for its strict immigration policies, Japan in recent years has gradually relaxed visa rules to attract workers in industries facing severe labor shortages, like manufacturing and transport, as younger Japanese increasingly shun such jobs.
These measures have met with some success. In 2024, the country recorded its highest-ever number of foreign residents for the third consecutive year, reaching nearly 3.8 million foreign-born nationals with legal residency, according to Japanese data website Nippon.
Newsweek reached out to Japan’s Foreign Ministry via email with a request for comment outside office hours.
What To Know
Last year saw 22,878 births to either married foreign parents or unmarried foreign mothers, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported, citing new figures from the Health Ministry—an increase of more than 3,000 compared with 2023.
That represents just over 3 percent of all babies born in Japan that year—also a record.
Chinese mothers accounted for the most births, with 4,237, followed by Brazilian and Filipino mothers, at 1,807 and 1,351 respectively.
The number of foreign-born infants offset more than half the drop in births to Japanese parents, which fell by 41,115 to 686,173—the lowest level since records began, according to the report.
Some analysts have called for stronger government policies to support and integrate foreign children and families into Japanese society, warning that without such measures, divisions could deepen further.
What People Are Saying
Toshihiro Menju, visiting professor at Kansai University of International Studies, told Nikkei: “We need policies to create a society where foreign-national children, when they grow up, speak Japanese, earn as much as Japanese citizens do, and can support their own families. Otherwise, we’re going to have a divided society.”
What’s Next
It remains to be seen how the ascent of conservative Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will shape Japan’s immigration policy. Takaichi has called for a “crackdown on illegal immigration” and tighter restrictions on foreign land ownership—positions that could slow momentum toward a more open, migrant-friendly Japan.
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