According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of children under 14 years of age was 14.93 million until April 1, about 190,000 fewer than the previous year and the lowest figure among comparable data available since 1950.

The ratio of children to the general population also fell to its lowest point at 11.9 percent, after 47 consecutive years of decline.

Japan has the lowest ratio among the 33 countries with a population of more than 40 million people, below South Korea’s 12.2 percent and Italy’s 13.3 percent, according to the United Nations Demographic Yearbook.

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