The nation's fertility rate — the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime — has gone up, albeit slightly, for two consecutive years. But the population remains on a downward trend. The government needs to foster economic and social conditions that will make it easier for people to marry and have children.
Japan's fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.26 in 2005, but rose to 1.32 the following year and reached 1.34 in 2007. The increase, however, was due to many women in their 30s apparently deciding to have a child before they turn 40. In 2007, 599,141 babies were born to women in their 30s, up 18 percent from the previous year, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.
Overall, 2007 saw more deaths than births. While 1,089,745 babies were born that year (2,929 less than in 2006), 1,108,280 people died (23,830 more than in 2006).