Most unmarried people under 30 in Japan do not want children: survey
Over 60 percent of unmarried young people in Japan said they do not want children in 2025, up from 56.6 percent who said so in 2024, a survey showed despite the government's measures to reverse the record low birth rate, Kyodo reports.
The poll conducted by Rohto Pharmaceutical Co. in December found that 62.6 percent of 400 men and women between 18 and 29 are reluctant to have children, citing concerns over finances and career development.
These respondents also said social media or online posts about pregnancy and childrearing also make them anxious about having children.
Some 64.7 percent of women are unwilling to have children, topping the rate for men, which stood at 60.7 percent in the latest survey, for the first time since 2020 when the survey started collecting answers by gender.
Those hoping for a childfree lifestyle have been on the rise since 2020 when the ratio was 44.0 percent. The figure exceeded 50 percent for the first time in 2023 to 55.2 percent.
A Rohto spokesperson said the results showed the need for society and the workplace to provide support for young people even before they have children, helping them gain appropriate knowledge about childbirth.
To raise the birth rate, the government plans to expand childcare allowances and benefits for those on parental leave, among other measures.
However, its efforts have yet to bear fruit. According to health ministry data, the number of children born in Japan in 2025 fell to 705,809, marking a record low for the tenth consecutive year.
In February, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who made history by becoming Japan's first female prime minister in October, vowed to strengthen measures to reverse the country's declining birthrate, calling the situation a "silent emergency" that undermines Japan's vitality.
As written before, Japan recorded 705,809 births in 2025, setting a new record low for the tenth year in a row, according to data released Thursday by the Health Ministry.