Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare calculates the birth rate every year. They use the total fertility rate as the birth rate. The following table shows the trend of the total fertility rate in Japan. The lowest rate 1.26 was recorded in 2005. In 2013, the rate was 1.43.
| Year | Total fertility rate |
| 1947 | 4.54 |
| 1948 | 4.40 |
| 1949 | 4.32 |
| 1950 | 3.65 |
| 1951 | 3.26 |
| 1952 | 2.98 |
| 1953 | 2.69 |
| 1954 | 2.48 |
| 1955 | 2.37 |
| 1956 | 2.22 |
| 1957 | 2.04 |
| 1958 | 2.11 |
| 1959 | 2.04 |
| 1960 | 2.00 |
| 1961 | 1.96 |
| 1962 | 1.98 |
| 1963 | 2.00 |
| 1964 | 2.05 |
| 1965 | 2.14 |
| 1966 | 1.58 |
| 1967 | 2.23 |
| 1968 | 2.13 |
| 1969 | 2.13 |
| 1970 | 2.13 |
| 1971 | 2.16 |
| 1972 | 2.14 |
| 1973 | 2.14 |
| 1974 | 2.05 |
| 1975 | 1.91 |
| 1976 | 1.85 |
| 1977 | 1.80 |
| 1978 | 1.79 |
| 1979 | 1.77 |
| 1980 | 1.75 |
| 1981 | 1.74 |
| 1982 | 1.77 |
| 1983 | 1.80 |
| 1984 | 1.81 |
| 1985 | 1.76 |
| 1986 | 1.72 |
| 1987 | 1.69 |
| 1988 | 1.66 |
| 1989 | 1.57 |
| 1990 | 1.54 |
| 1991 | 1.53 |
| 1992 | 1.50 |
| 1993 | 1.46 |
| 1994 | 1.50 |
| 1995 | 1.42 |
| 1996 | 1.43 |
| 1997 | 1.39 |
| 1998 | 1.38 |
| 1999 | 1.34 |
| 2000 | 1.36 |
| 2001 | 1.33 |
| 2002 | 1.32 |
| 2003 | 1.29 |
| 2004 | 1.29 |
| 2005 | 1.26 |
| 2006 | 1.32 |
| 2007 | 1.34 |
| 2008 | 1.37 |
| 2009 | 1.37 |
| 2010 | 1.39 |
| 2011 | 1.39 |
| 2012 | 1.41 |
| 2013 | 1.43 |
A society has to have greater than 2.08 total fertility rate in order to keep its population.
Source is Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 人口動態調査
www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/list/81-1.html
www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/List.do?lid=000001114055
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