Despite all its efforts and billions spent, Japan just can't seem to convince its citizens to have more children

• Japan's birth rate declined for a seventh consecutive year, reaching a record low in 2022.
• The country plans to spend more than $25 billion a year on childcare services in its effort to reverse the trend.
• Japan is already one of the oldest countries in the world, with an average median age of nearly 49.

For a seventh consecutive year, Japan's birth rate declined, dropping to a record low in 2022, the country's Health Ministry announced on Friday. 

Only 770,747 babies were born in Japan last year. That's half of the country's death rate, which last year increased to 9% — or 1.57 million people. That increase was driven in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Japan is already one of the oldest countries in the world. The country's median age is nearly 49, coming in second only behind Monaco.

For years, the government has been trying to encourage people to have more children, offering cash incentives and up to a year of parental leave. But these efforts have so far fallen short.

'Now or never'

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that the country was "on the brink of not being able to maintain social functions" if the birth rate continued to drop and that the time to act was "now or never."

The average fertility rate in 2022 was 1.25, which refers to the average number of children a woman gives birth to in her lifetime. In order to maintain a stable population, that rate needs to increase to 2.07.

The government is expected to earmark 3.5 trillion yen ($25.2 billion) annually on childcare services and higher education subsidies over the next three years, but many experts fear the additional funding does not address underlying issues.

Japan is one of the most expensive places in the world to raise a child. It also has the largest gender wage gap among the G7 nations, with women earning only 78% of what their male counterparts make. Experts also say that the country's strenuous corporate culture makes it difficult for people to consider having children or to make time for child care.

"The youth population will start decreasing drastically in the 2030s. The period of time until then is our last chance to reverse the trend of dwindling births," Kishida said this week.