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July 05, 2025
 

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POPULATION

A registration system linking local governments with the so-called connected population — nonresidents who regularly interact with regional areas — is designed to encourage people living in urban areas to play active roles in rural communities amid their shrinking populations.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 15, 2025
Japan considers new system to connect urban and rural populations
The system aims to help those in overpopulated cities to play more active roles in rural communities with shrinking populations.
The government is looking to ease the overconcentration of businesses in Tokyo to tackle labor shortages in the countryside, ensure nationwide economic growth and realize a sustainable society.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 13, 2025
Government aims to create 10,000 jobs via business relocations from Tokyo
The move is aimed at easing overconcentration of companies in the capital and bridge an urban-rural divide in economic growth.
An Afghan woman carries away food aid donated by the Indian government in Kabul on May 18.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2025
Trump's cuts are 'devastating' for vulnerable women worldwide, U.N. says
Though it is too soon to estimate the impacts of the U.S. cuts, they will likely result in increased maternal mortality and more unintended pregnancies.
A mother takes her child to kindergarten in Hanoi on Wednesday. Vietnam's birth rate fell from 2.11 children per woman in 2021 to 1.91 last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 4, 2025
Vietnam scraps two-child limit as birth rate declines
The birth rate fell from 2.11 children per woman in 2021 to 1.91 last year, below replacement level.
The total number of births dropped to about 686,000, marking the first time the figure has fallen below 700,000, according to a health ministry release on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025
Japan’s fertility rate hits record low despite government push
The new low underscores the immense challenge facing the government as it attempts to reverse the trend in one of the world’s most aged societies.
Tokyo officials are pushing back against arguments that blame the dwindling national population partly on the concentration of people and businesses in the capital.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 15, 2025
Regional revitalization faces Tokyo-countryside divide
Some blame Japan's dwindling national population partly on the concentration of people and businesses in the capital.
The proportion of children in Japan's overall population came to a record low of 11.1% as of April 1, dropping for 51 years in a row.
JAPAN / Society
May 4, 2025
Japan's child population falls for 44th straight year
The country's child population hit the lowest level since comparable data became available in 1950.
Of the 721,000 childbirths reported in 2024 in Japan, 13.8% involved the use of an epidural, according to the Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 22, 2025
Cases of epidural use in labor rise in Japan alongside concerns
More demand for epidurals may place a strain on the nation's anesthesiologists, who are already facing staffing shortages.
Japan’s population has been falling year on year since 2011 after peaking in 2008.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 14, 2025
Japan’s population shrinks for the 14th consecutive year
Japan’s population has been falling year on year since 2011 after peaking in 2008.
Declining birth rates in China are driven by a myriad of causes, such as a shrinking childbearing-age population, lifestyle changes, the one-child policy’s lasting effects, an oversupply of men and high youth unemployment.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2025
Why China’s marriage crisis matters
According to China’s 2020 census, 61% of babies are born to women aged 20 to 30. But the number of women in this cohort dropped from 111 million in 2012 to 73 million in 2024.
A woman visits a grave in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, on Tuesday on the 14th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Populations in the hardest hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima are sharply falling.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025
Post-disaster Tohoku struggles with population decline
The number of people aged 20 to 39 in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures fell by about 20% to 30% between 2010 and 2024.
Girls take care of their baby brother before leaving for school in Seoul. South Korea just recorded its first rise in fertility rates in nearly a decade.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 26, 2025
South Korea's policy push springs to life as world's lowest birth rate rises
That shift in societal norms could prove pivotal in a country that has seen its birth rate plummet to the lowest in the world.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba receives fruit from tangerine farmers of Shizuoka Prefecture in Tokyo on Jan. 22. The government's new regional revitalization plan focuses on convincing younger workers to choose a career and life somewhere other than a major urban center such as Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2025
Can Ishiba's 'joyful Japan' policy revitalize the nation's rural regions?
The prime minister may be taking cues from the mistakes of past efforts, but ultimately, even the best rural revitalization plan is tough to realize in practice.
Toshikazu Shiba (right), 71, works full-time along with younger staff at sofa manufacturer Eucas in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Feb 17, 2025
More older people choosing to work for social connection and survival
Older residents are exploring ways to navigate the later stages of their lives, whether continuing their careers or with new ventures.
Tokyo saw a net population inflow of 79,285 in 2024, up 11,000 from the previous year and returning to prepandemic levels.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2025
Tokyo area's net population inflow accelerates in 2024
The government aims to reverse the trend in fiscal 2027 to address the issue of overconcentration in the Tokyo area.
Parents and municipal staff share their concerns during a workshop held by volunteer group Cotohana in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jan 27, 2025
Towns near Fukushima plant struggle to attract families with children
Futaba County, home to the Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant, has seen a drastic reduction in the number of children in the area.
Epidurals during childbirth have long been uncommon in Japan, though they have been growing more popular in recent years.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 14, 2025
Tokyo plans to subsidize epidurals, but are hospitals ready?
If all goes to plan, Tokyo will be the first to offer prefecture-level financial support for epidurals.
A subsidy for epidural childbirths was one of Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike's campaign promises when she ran for her position last year.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025
Tokyo looks to ease the pain — both physical and financial — of childbirth
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is looking to begin offering a subsidy for epidural childbirths in fiscal 2025.
Children at a traditional festival in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Thursday. A forecast made by Tohoku University professor Hiroshi Yoshida estimates that Japan will be left with just one child on Jan. 5, 2720, based on current birthrate trends.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 6, 2025
2720 — the year when Japan is left with just one child
An expert on the graying of society has warned that the nation will be left with just one child age 14 and below in 695 years if its birthrate continues to decline.
Smoke rises from an Israeli strike inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 3, 2025
Israeli emigration more than doubles in 2024 amid raging war
Some 82,700 Israelis left in 2024 compared with an average 36,900 for the years 2018 through 2022, Israel's statistics bureau says.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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