Record
number of babies born to foreign parents in Japan amid political row over
migration
More than
20,000 children were born to non-Japanese couples, accounting for more than 3%
of all newborns
Justin
McCurry in Tokyo
Mon 13
Oct 2025 04.46 BST
The
number of babies born to foreign parents reached a record high in Japan in
2024, underlining rapid demographic changes that have propelled migration to
the heart of the country’s political debate.
More than
20,000 children were born to non-Japanese couples, accounting for more than 3%
of all newborns, according to the health ministry – in stark contrast to
another sharp fall in the number born to Japanese parents.
The
number and proportion of foreign newborns were both record highs, the Nikkei
business newspaper reported, adding that the children were “starting to help
dent the decline in births among Japanese people”.
Japan is
one of the fastest-ageing countries in the world and has struggled to raise its
birthrate to the level needed to sustain the population, which currently stands
at about 125 million.
Its
non-Japanese population has soared in recent years, as more migrant workers are
hired to fill gaps in the labour market – a trend that has turned immigration
into an election issue for the first time.
The
ministry’s data showed that 22,878 foreign children – defined as the offspring
of non-Japanese parents or an unmarried foreign mother – were born last year.
That is an increase of more than 3,000 from a year earlier, and represents a
50% rise from a decade ago, the Nikkei said.
The
number of children born to Japanese couples fell to 686,173 – a reduction of
41,115 from the year before. The contrasting trends meant non-Japanese newborns
offset the decline in Japanese births by more than half and accounted for 3.2%
of all births.
By
nationality, Chinese women comprised the single biggest group of foreign
mothers followed by women from the Philippines and Brazil.
The
increase is a reflection of the sharp rise in foreign residents in Japan. The
number of legal foreign residents 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 remain in the country for longer and to have children.
The
diverse populations now found in many Japanese towns such as Ōizumi, home to
dozens of nationalities, has prompted right-wing politicians to call for
stricter immigration rules and better integration.
In July’s
upper house elections, the minor populist party Sanseito put in a strong
performance after it campaigned opposing foreign workers.
Sanae
Takaichi, the new leader of the governing Liberal Democratic party who is
hoping to be made prime minister this month, made immigration and “badly
behaved” foreign tourists a key part of her election bid.
But the
labour shortage, combined with an ageing demographic, is expected to fuel more
migration. The justice minister, Keisuke Suzuki, recently said the proportion
of foreign residents could surpass 10% of the population by 2040 – three
decades earlier than a National Institute of Population and Social Security
Research forecast published in 2023.
Experts
have called on local authorities to do more to help foreign families. “Policies
and help for foreign babies born here and their families are lagging in many
localities, and most rely on nonprofit organisations,” Toshihiro Menju, a
visiting professor at the Kansai University of International Studies, told the
Nikkei.
“We need
policies to create a society where foreign-national children, when they grow
up, speak Japanese, earn as much as Japanese citizens do, and can support their
own families,” Menju aded, warning that otherwise “we are going to have a
divided society”.
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