National News

Number of kids hits yet another record low

音声ダウンロード

The number of children in Japan has fallen to another record low, indicating that efforts so far taken by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have not been able to reverse the declining birth rate.

According to data released May 4, the number of children of all ethnicities aged 14 or younger fell to 15.71 million as of April 1 — down 170,000 from a year earlier and the lowest since comparable data became available in 1950, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said.

It was the 36th straight drop in the figure. (Kyodo)

子どもの数、過去最低を更新

総務省が5月4日に公表した人口推計（4月1日時点）によると、外国人を含む14歳以下の子どもの数は前年より17万人少ない1571万人で、36年連続の減少となった。

The Japan Times ST: May 19, 2017