麻豆约拍

Japan's prime minister says his country is on the brink of not being able to function as a society because of its falling birth rate. Fumio Kishida has described it as a case of "now or never."

Japan - with a population of 125 million - is estimated to have had fewer than 800,000 births last year. In the 1970s, that figure was more than two million.

Birth rates are slowing in many countries, including Japan's neighbours.

But the issue is particularly acute in Japan as life expectancy has risen in recent decades, meaning there is a growing number of older people, and a declining number of workers to support them.

Japan now has the world's second-highest proportion of people aged 65 and over - about 28% - after the tiny state of Monaco, according to World Bank data.

"Japan is standing on the verge of whether we can continue to function as a society," Mr Kishida told lawmakers.

So why are Japanese women choosing to have fewer children? OS received this message from Sachiko in Tokyo.

(Photo shows: A woman rides a train while a baby sleeps in a stroller in Tokyo on March 26, 2022. Credit: Getty Images)

Show less