日本出生人口持續下降

Recently the Asahi News reported the following:

総務省は１月１日現在の人口推計をまとめた。この１年で新たに成人に達した２０１１年の新成人は１２４万人（男性６３万人、女性６１万人）で、総人口１億２７３６万人に占める割合は０．９７％。総務省が新成人の人口推計を始めた１９６８年以降、初めて１％を割り込んだ。
　これまで新成人が最も多かったのは人口、比率とも７０年の２４６万人（２．４０％）。第１次ベビーブーム世代の４９年生まれの人が成人に達した時だった。
　その後は減少。第２次ベビーブームの人たちが成人となった９４年には２０７万人まで盛り返したが、９５年以降は再び減少傾向が続いている。１１年の新成人はピーク時のほぼ半数となっている。人口推計では、新成人は３０年に９５万人、５０年には７１万人まで減る見込み。
　一方、うさぎ年生まれの人は１００８万人で、男性４９０万人、女性５１７万人。

On January 1 the Ministry for Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications consolidated an estimate on the population. New adults in 2011 who had newly attained adulthood this year were 1.24 million people (630,000 men and 610,000 females), and this ratio represented 0.97% of the total 127.36 million population. It was the first time since 1968 when the Ministry started the new adult population estimate that the figure was reduced to below the 1% mark. Up to now, the highest new adult ratio was 2.46 million (2.4%) of the 1970. It was the time when the first wave of baby boomers born in 1949 had attained adulthood themselves. Afterwards there was a decrease. The decreasing tendency continued until 1994 when it recovered to 2.07 million people, it was a time when people of the second wave baby boomers became adults. After 1995 the decreasing tendency continued. New adult in 2011 was almost half of the number at the peak. According to the population estimate, new adult in 2030 was expected to be 950,000 people, and would decrease down to 710,000 people in 2050. On the other hand, people born in the year of the rabbit was expected to be 10.08 million, 4.9 million men and 5.17 million women.

Probably Japan could consider taking up more immigrants from overseas.