Births in Japan up for first time in 5 years in 2015

The number of Japanese babies born in the country in 2015 is estimated to have totaled 1,008,000, up by 4,000 from the previous year, rising for the first time in five years, Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry data have revealed.

The growth may have partly backed by an improvement in the employment situation, Japan's Jiji Press reported ministry officials as saying.

The total number was pushed up by an increase in babies born to women in their 30s. In the January-June first half, the number of babies delivered by women in the age group was up by 10,000 from a year earlier, the ministry said.

The annual number of births has been on a declining trend after topping two million in the second baby boom between 1971 and 1974. In 2014, the number of newborns came to as low as 1,003,539.

The ministry also said that the number of Japanese people who died in 2015 is estimated at 1,302,000, up by 29,000 and hitting the highest level in the postwar period.

As a result, Japan's population posted the biggest natural decrease of 294,000 since the survey started in 1899.

Of the total deaths for last year, 370,000, the largest, were due to malignant neoplasms such as cancer, followed by 199,900 caused by heart failure and 123,000 by pneumonia.

The number of couples who were married in 2015 decreased by 9,000 to 635,000, while 225,000 couples divorced, up by 3,000.

All these estimates were based on preliminary data for January-October.

Final figures for 2015 will be released in September this year.