The number of people who died in Japan in 2008 is estimated to have increased to 1.143 million, the highest number since comparable data became available in 1947, according to health ministry estimates released Wednesday.
The number of babies born in the country in 2008 came to an estimated 1.092 million, nearly the same as the year before, bringing the natural population decrease to an estimated 51,000, up from the previous year's 18,516, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said in the survey.
"The margin of decrease is expected to widen due to the falling birthrate and the aging population," the ministry said.
The estimates are based on preliminary figures for the number of births and deaths registered at municipal offices between January and October.
Of the total deaths in 2008, 343,000 were attributed to cancer, 184,000 to heart disease and 126,000 to strokes, the survey showed.
The previous record number of deaths — 1,138,238 — was registered in 1947, according to the ministry.
Before logging an all-time high in 2008, the number of deaths had exceeded 1 million for five consecutive years through 2007, the ministry said.
The number of births in 2008 was up about 2,000, or 0.02 percent, from the previous year and Japan's overall fertility rate — the average number of children born to a woman aged between 15 and 49 — is expected to increase slightly from the 1.34 marked in 2007, the ministry said.
The number of marriages in 2008 increased by about 11,000 from the year before to an estimated 731,000, while that of divorces fell by about 4,000 to an estimated 251,000.