The population of children aged 14 or younger reached 14.65 million as of April 1, down about 250,000 from a year earlier and the lowest figure since 1950.

Experts believe that the record decline came after women had refrained from having children due to the expanding coronavirus pandemic.

According to the 2020 U.N. Demographic Yearbook, Japan has the lowest such proportion among 35 countries with a population of 40 million or more. (ILKHA)