Several national statistics hit record levels last year as the average birthrate dropped to an all-time low of 1.38 babies per woman and the number of suicides topped 30,000 for the first time, the Health and Welfare Ministry said Friday.
A total of 1,203,149 babies were born in 1998, up 11,484 from the previous year. But the average number of babies born to women in their lifetime was lower by 0.01 compared with the previous record low of 1.39 babies set in 1997, according to ministry statistics.
Japanese women continue to have children at later ages, the figures indicate. According to age bracket, the number of babies born to mothers in their 30s rose by around 19,000 from the previous year while the number born to mothers in their 20s fell by roughly 9,000.
The average age for women having their first child also rose to 27.8 years, up from 27.7 years — signaling an extension of a trend that has seen the age of mothers rise by 0.1 year annually.
Although the average age of first-time marriages for men remained level at 28.6, the average age for women rose by 0.1 year to 26.7 years, suggesting that late marriages and births continue to be the main factors behind the declining birthrate.