View source for Fertility in Japan

{{country-specific information|
information type = fertility|
country = Japan}}

==Data sources==

* {{HFD source|country = Japan|country code = JPN|update date = August 8, 2012|download date = December 2, 2013}}
* {{Gapminder standard fertility indicators}}

==Key quantitative metrics==

Unless otherwise specified, data is from the Human Fertility Database, last updated August 2012. 

The "Year" column below gives the period year for period measures, and the [[birth cohort]] year for cohort measures. With the exception of the [[tempo-adjusted total fertility rate]], all latest period measures are for 2009. Latest cohort measures are 1959 or 1969, the former for the completed measures and the latter for the under-40 measures.

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Metric !! Direct fertility measure, comparable with [[replacement fertility]] value of 2.1? !! Period measure or cohort measure? !! Most recent measurement !! Year !! Data year range, with link to data !! Maximum in range !! Minimum in range
|-
| [[crude birth rate]] (CBR) || No || Period || 8.5  || 2009 || [[period fertility in Japan#Crude birth rate|1947-2009]] || 34.65<br>(1947) || 8.43<br>(2005)
|-
| [[total fertility rate]] (TFR) || Yes || Period ||  1.361 || 2009 || [[period fertility in Japan#Total fertility rate|1947-2009]] || 4.566<br>(1947) ||  1.254<br>(2005)
|-
| TFR40 || Yes(ish) ||Period || 1.324  || 2009 || [[Period fertility in Japan|1947-2009]] || 4.252<br>(1947) || 1.228<br>(2005)
|-
| CBR proportions by birth order || No || Period || birth orders 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (and more) (respectively): 0.479, 0.365, 0.126, 0.024, 0.007 || 2009 || [[Period fertility in Japan#Crude birth rate|1968-2009]] || ||
|-
| TFR proportions by birth order || No || Period || birth orders 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (and more) (respectively): 0.495, 0.357, 0.118, 0.022, 0.007 || 2009 || [[Period fertility in Japan#Total fertility rate|1968-2009]] || ||
|-
| [[Completed cohort fertility]] || Yes || Cohort || 1.87 || 1959 || [[Completed fertility in Japan#Completed cohort fertility|1932-1959]] || 2.071<br>(1941 <br>cohort) || 1.851<br>(1945<br>cohort)
|-
| CCF40 || Yes(ish) || Cohort || 1.444 || 1969 || [[Completed fertility in Japan|1932-1969]] || 2.062<br>(1941<br>cohort) || 1.444<br>(1969<br>cohort)
|-
| [[Mean age at birth]] || No || Period || 30.44  || 2009 || [[Age distribution of mothers at birth in Japan#Mean age at birth|1947-2009]] || 30.47<br>(1947) || 27.47<br>(1975)
|-
| [[Cohort mean age at birth]] || No || Cohort || 28.64 || 1959 || [[Age distribution of mothers at birth in Japan#Cohort mean age at birth|1953-1959]] ||  28.64<br>(1959<br>cohort) || 27.92<br>(1953<br>cohort)
|-
| [[Cohort mean age at birth]] for birth cohorts till the age of 40 (CMAB40) || No || Cohort || 29.55|| 1969 || [[Age distribution of mothers at birth in Japan#Cohort mean age at birth|1953-1969]] || 29.55<br>(1969) || 27.82<br>(1953)
|-
| [[Tempo-adjusted total fertility rate]] (period measure) || Yes || Period || 1.512  || 2008 || [[Tempo-adjusted total fertility rate in Japan|1969-2008]] ||  2.045<br>(1969) || 1.369<br>(2005)
|}

==Qualitative history of fertility-relevant events and trends==

===Key events===

See [[Wikipedia:Abortion in Japan]] for the abortion timeline, and [http://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs/POPwp118.pdf this paper] for the pro-natalist policy timeline.
{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Year !! Type of event !! Direction (pronatalist versus antinatalist) based on intentions and naive reasoning about effects !! Event !! Postulated effects seen in fertility statistics !! [[Total fertility rate]] values in that year and nearby years (relevant year in bold)
|-
| 1869 || [[fertility policy]] || pronatalist || abortion was banned nationwide, but punishment was rare except in cases of adultery or death to the mother || ||
|-
| 1880 || [[fertility policy]] || pronatalist || ban on abortion was included in the penal code || ||
|-
| 1907 || [[fertility policy]] || pronatalist || women could be incarcerated for up to a year for having an abortion; practitioners could be jailed for up to seven. || || 
|-
| 1923 || [[fertility policy]] || antinatalist || doctors were granted legal permission to perform emergency abortions to save the mother's life; abortions performed under different, less life-threatening circumstances were still prosecuted. || || 
|-
| 1940 || [[fertility policy]] || pronatalist || National Eugenic Law outlined a set of procedures doctors needed to follow in order to get an abortion. || Some commentators claim this was causally responsible for a huge decline in the number of abortions 1941-1944. ||
|-
| 1948 || [[fertility policy]] || antinatalist || passage of [[Eugenic Protection Law]] legalizing abortion and facilitating the provision of family planning services || This may have contributed to the rapid decline in birth rates and fertility in the 1949-1955 period. || 4.566, '''4.444''', 4.357, 3.672
|-
| 1966 || superstition || antinatalist (but temporary) || inauspicious year for births. || sudden dip in fertility rates. || 2.045, 2.145, '''1.579''', 2.224, 2.127
|-
| 1972 || [[family policy]] || pronatalist || The Japanese government, foreseeing that fertility would soon drop to below the [[replacement fertility]] level, introduced a per-child subsidy. || ||
|-
| 1973 || measurement issue || -- || change in data collection modalities || Jumps or discontinuities at this year are likely attributable to the change in data collection modality. || 2.153, 2.138, '''2.135''', 2.04, 1.9
|-
| 1991 || [[family policy]] || pronatalist || Childcare Leave Act passed by Japanese government aimed at helping working mothers || || 1.576, 1.543, '''1.537''', 1.506, 1.464
|-
| 1994 || [[family policy]] || pronatalist || government passed a four-year Angel Plan 1995-99 (officially known as the "Basic Direction for Future Childbearing Support Measures") with the primary goal being to establish more day-care centers to make parenting easier (and thereby, more attractive) || || 1.506, 1.464, '''1.507''', 1.426, 1.43
|-
| 1996 || [[fertility policy]] || pronatalist || replacement of the Eugenic Protection Law by the Maternal Health Protection Law, making abortion illegal except in case the fetus had significant defects or in case of danger to the mother's health || No discernible effect, but probably because the law itself didn't change reality on the ground. || 1.507, 1.426, '''1.43''', 1.392, 1.388
|-
| 1999 || [[family policy]] || pronatalist || government passed a New Angel Plan building on the earlier Angel Plan, to build more day-care centers and after-school support. || || 1.392, 1.388, '''1.347''', 1.318, 1.29
|-
| 1999 || [[fertility policy]] || antinatalist || birth control pills were legalized, see [http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5726375/#.UvuvUoXl68w here] || No discernible effect || 1.392, 1.388, '''1.347''', 1.318, 1.29
|-
| 2001 || [[family policy]] || pronatalist || Employment Insurance Law was amended, specifying that 40% salary was to be paid to regular full-time employees on childcare leave || || 1.347, 1.359, '''1.336''', 1.318, 1.29
|-
| 2002 || [[family policy]] || pronatalist || "Plus One" plan announced by the government, encouraging fathers to take five-day paternity leave following childbirth || || 1.359, 1.336, '''1.318''', 1.29, 1.288
|-
| 2003 || diffuse, mix of family policy and fertility policy || pronatalist || Japanese government passed "Next Generation" law and "Law for Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation." These required any business with more than 300 workers to create a "plan" for raising the fertility level of its workers || || 1.336, 1.318, '''1.29''', 1.288, 1.254
|-
| 2004 || [[fertility policy]] || pronatalist || government subsidies for infertility treatments began || || 1.318, 1.29, '''1.288''', 1.254, 1.313
|-
| 2006 || [[fertility policy]] || antinatalist || abortion was officially made legal conditional to the mother's consent || No discernible effect, but probably because the law itself didn't change reality on the ground. || 1.288, 1.254, '''1.313''', 1.331, 1.36
|-
|}

===Trends in period fertility===

{{#lst:period fertility in Japan|trends}}

===Trends in completed fertility===

{{#lst:completed fertility in Japan|trends}}


==Period fertility==

{{further|[[period fertility in Japan]]}}

{{#lst:period fertility in Japan|main}}

==Completed fertility==

{{further|[[completed fertility in Japan]]}}

{{#lst:completed fertility in Japan|main}}

==Other data on fertility==

* [[Age distribution of mothers at birth in Japan]] includes data on the [[mean age at birth]], [[standard deviation in age at birth]], and [[cohort mean age at birth]].
* [[Tempo-adjusted total fertility rate in Japan]] includes data on the [[tempo-adjusted total fertility rate]].

==Fertility broken down further==

* [[Fertility and education in Japan]]
* [[Fertility by region in Japan]]
* [[Fertility by ethnicity in Japan]]

==Other social and demographic indicators related to fertility==

===Social structures and policies===

* [[Family structure in Japan]]

===Empirical data on measures related to fertility===

* [[Demographics of Japan]]
* [[Population trends in Japan]]
* [[Migration in Japan]]
* [[Marriage in Japan]]
* [[Abortion in Japan]]

==References==

* {{paperlink|Japan-babybust}}
* {{paperlink|Japan-fertility-by-education}}