Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data released in February 2026 show deaths outnumbering births by 918,253, the 19th consecutive year of natural population decline; Tokyo's TFR fell below 1.0 for a second year

Japan's Ministry of Health confirmed 705,809 births in 2025, the 10th consecutive annual record low and the smallest annual birth cohort since comparable records began in 1899; deaths outnumbered births by 918,253, and the milestone reached a threshold that government projections in 2023 had not expected to arrive until 2042, prompting Prime Minister Takaichi to establish a new demographic task force