Local News

Kyushu Anticipates Higher Birth Rates

Under the national government’s regional revitalization scheme, each prefecture is expected to formulate its own future population outlook. The prefectures of Kyushu have each released documents that list higher total fertility rates (TFR), that is the average number of children born to women over their lifetimes, than the national estimates. For example, the TFR for 2014 was 1.42 at the national level, 1.46 in Fukuoka and 1.69 in Miyazaki (the highest rate among Kyushu prefectures). Meanwhile, future estimates, which do not all follow the same time scale, clock in at 1.8 in 2030 at the national level vs. 1.8 in Fukuoka in 2025 and 2.07 in Miyazaki in 2030. Kagoshima, for one, did not release any future estimates. Meanwhile, critics say the figures are too optimistic and the regional visions, some of which include population estimates out to the year 2100, are not feasible. A professor at Fukuoka University says it will be very difficult to boost birth rates without stepped up policy measures, especially since regional areas are expected to lose population to the metro Tokyo area leading up to the 2020 Olympics. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 8/11

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(Photo: provided by the City of Fukuoka)

Category
Society
Published: Aug 13, 2015 / Last Updated: Apr 1, 2016

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