Japan's population has been shrinking for 15 years, with huge implications for the country's economy, national defense, and culture. Now, policymakers are working to boost birth rates.

Japanese real wages decreased for a third consecutive month in March, squeezed by relentless inflation although consumer ...

In 2024, 720,988 babies were born in the country, marking the ninth consecutive year of decline in child births.

Japan has been struggling to cope with a combination of anaemic economic growth and a shrinking population for over 30 years. 2025 marks the tipping point when the rising costs outstrip the country's ...

Using prefectural data, we study the potential impact on wage dynamics of the planned minimum wage increase policy in Japan. Our main result is that stepping up minimum wage growth from 2 to the ...

The mixed wage and spending data highlights Japan's challenging growth outlook, as the export-reliant economy faces tariff threats and uncertainty over monetary policy. Economists are expecting to ...

ANALYSIS: Before the election, Labor promised policies to lift the declining birthrate, but there is little evidence they will actually work.

A stock image of a mother holding her baby after giving birth at a hospital in Japan. Uncredited/Kyodo via AP The proposed policy shift comes amid ongoing efforts by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ...