Japan's child population sags to record low for 28th year in row+

TOKYO, May 4 Kyodo - The number of children aged under 15 is estimated to have totaled 17.14 million in Japan as of April 1, marking a record low for the 28th straight year due to the declining birthrate, according to a government report released Monday.

The report by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, released a
day ahead of the Children's Day national holiday in Japan, showed that
children's share of the population was 13.4 percent, declining for the 35th
consecutive year.
The latest figures continue to show the country is experiencing a declining
birthrate and an aging population. As of April 1, the proportion of people aged
65 and older was 22.5 percent of the population.
The data also showed that the percentage of children in the Japanese population
was the lowest among the 31 countries listed in the United Nations demographic
yearbook as having a population of at least 30 million.
Japan fell below Germany, where children accounted for 13.9 percent of the
population, and Italy, where the proportion was 14.1 percent.
The government report showed there were 8.78 million boys and 8.35 million
girls in Japan as of April 1.
By prefecture, Akita had the lowest proportion of children in the population at
11.5 percent, followed by Tokyo at 11.8 percent, according to figures as of
Oct. 1. The highest was Okinawa at 17.9 percent.
Tokyo, however, was the only prefecture which saw its percentage rise from a
year earlier.
==Kyodo