Record number of babies born to foreign parents in Japan amid political row over migration | Japan
The number of babies born to foreign parents in Japan is set to reach a record high in 2024, underscoring rapid demographic changes that are pushing immigration to the center of political debate in the country.
According to the health ministry, more than 20,000 children born to non-Japanese couples account for more than 3% of all newborns; This is in stark contrast to another sharp decline in the number of births to Japanese parents.
The number and rate of foreign newborns were at record levels. Nikkei business newspaper reportedHe added that children “are starting to help reduce the decline in births among the Japanese population.”
Japan is one of the fastest-aging countries in the world and is struggling to raise its birth rate to a level that can sustain its population, which now stands at about 125 million.
The non-Japanese population has grown rapidly in recent years as more immigrant workers are hired to fill gaps in the labor market; This trend made immigration an election issue for the first time.
The ministry’s data showed that 22,878 foreign children, defined as children of non-Japanese parents or an unmarried foreign mother, were born last year. That’s an increase of more than 3,000 from a year ago and represents a 50% increase from a decade ago, Nikkei said.
The number of children born to Japanese couples decreased by 41,115 compared to the previous year, falling to 686,173. The opposite trends meant that non-Japanese newborns more than half made up for the decline in Japanese births, accounting for 3.2% of all births.
By nationality, Chinese women make up the largest group of foreign mothers, followed by women from the Philippines and Brazil.
This increase reflects the sharp increase in the number of foreigners residing in Japan. The number of legally resident aliens has risen to 3.95 million, the immigration services agency said last week. Many are in their 20s and 30s and are more likely to stay in the country longer and have children.
The diverse populations now found in many Japanese towns such as Ōizumi, home to dozens of nationalities, have led right-wing politicians to call for stricter immigration rules and better integration.
In July’s upper house elections, the small populist party Sanseito had a strong showing after campaigning against foreign workers.
Sanae Takaichi, the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democrat party who hopes to become prime minister this month, has made immigration and foreign tourists “behaving badly” a key part of her election campaign.
But labor shortages combined with aging demographics are expected to fuel further migration. Justice minister Keisuke Suzuki recently said the proportion of foreign residents could exceed 10% of the population by 2040; this was three decades earlier than the 2023 forecast published by the National Population and Social Security Research Institute.
Experts called on local authorities to do more to help foreign families. “Policies and assistance for foreign babies born here and their families remain inadequate in many regions, and most of them rely on non-profit organizations,” Toshihiro Menju, an adjunct professor at Kansai University of International Studies, told Nikkei.
“We need policies to create a society where foreign children can speak Japanese when they grow up, earn as much as Japanese citizens, and support their own families,” Menju said, warning that otherwise “we will have a divided society.”
