The number of children in Japan has fallen to another record low, indicating that the efforts so far taken by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have been inadequate in reversing the nation's declining birth rate.

According to the latest data, released Thursday, the number of children 14 or under as of April 1, including foreign people, had fallen to 15.71 million — down 170,000 from a year ago and the lowest since comparative data became available in 1950, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said.

That means the population of children has dropped for 36 consecutive years.