Japan's population is declining

Deaths exceeded births in Japan by 31,034 in the first half of the year, raising the possibility the population has started to decline two years earlier than predicted.


Japan's falling birth rate and ageing population have fuelled concerns about future growth in the world's second-largest economy. Experts had previously said the population was likely to start shrinking in 2007.

Preliminary figures released by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday showed that the number of deaths totalled 568,671 in the first half of this year, outpacing the number of births, which stood at 537,637 during the same period.