Original factual summary of public Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare final population statistics. Scope: births to Japanese nationals in Japan, not all births worldwide or all residents. 2023: 727,288 births. 2024: 686,173 births. Difference: 41,115 fewer births (approximately 5.65% fewer relative to 2023). These are annual counts, not a birth rate. Do not infer causes or predict future births.
Official source: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/jinkou/kakutei24/dl/02_kek.pdf
Scope reference: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/jinkou/kakutei24/dl/01_cho.pdf