Japan's population fell for the first time this year, the government said Thursday, calling it a "turning point" that will force the world's second-largest economy to adapt to a rapidly aging society.
With its young people increasingly finding children a burden to their careers and lifestyles, Japan joins Germany and Italy among a club of nations whose populations have started to shrink.
Deaths are likely to outnumber births by about 10,000 this year, the first decline since 1899 when Japan began compiling the data, health ministry figures showed.
"Our country is now standing at a major turning point in terms of population," Health, Labour and Welfare Minister Jiro Kawasaki told a news conference.