- Istimewa
VIVA – Japan is experiencing a sex recession. The number of baby births and population decline are real threats to the country's future.
The Japanese Ministry of Health even announced that the number of births in 2022 would be only 799,728, the lowest since 1899 when statistics were first recorded. The female fertility rate was only 1.30 in 2021.
But, there is a city that's considered a miracle because of its high baby birth rate compared to other areas, namely Nagi in Okayama Prefecture.
Nagi City recorded a birth rate of 2.95 in 2019. With a population of around 5,700, the city maintains a birth rate of 2.68 in 2021, as quoted from the Mainichi site.
Ilustrasi penduduk Jepang.
- U-Report
The city has managed to become the center of attention in Japan as well as overseas, receiving more than fifty visits per year from local governments including from the United States, South Korea, the Netherlands, and Qatar.
As information, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also already visited the city on February 19.
Nagi is successful in its efforts to maintain and even increase the population. The city provides free textbooks and learning materials for elementary and junior high school students, free medical care for children up to high school, and a school fee subsidy of USD 1,800 or equivalent to IDR 26,000 per student per year for high school students.
In 2007, the city opened a daycare facility 'Nagi Children's Home'. In addition to childcare services, the facility also provides a place where parents with children can talk in the same way as with neighbors. The staff is made up of residents including mothers who have finished parenting.
Nagi's reputation as a city that supports childcare has spread and the number of young people moving to the area is increasing. In March 2023, the town's population reached 5,751, up slightly from 5,725 in April 2022.
With this fact, there is hope for the future of Japan to increase the birth rate.
