The number of children in Japan is at a new low, while the number of people over 65 has reached a record high as the population ages and shrinks.
The Internal Affairs Ministry saidJapan has an estimated 16.33 million children aged under 15, down 160,000 from a year earlier.
It was the 33rd consecutive annual decline and the lowest level since records began in 1950.
Children account for 12.8 percent of Japan's population of about 127 million, the lowest ratio among developed countries with a population of at least 40 million.
In contrast, the proportion of people aged 65 or older is now 25.6 percent. That figure is forecast to reach nearly 40 percent in 2060.
Boys playing under carp streamers in a riverside park in suburban Tokyo. Photo: AFP
