2720 — the year when Japan is left with just one child

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In 695 years, Japan will be left with only one child if its birthrate continues on its current trajectory

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The forecast by Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor at Tohoku University’s Research Center for Aged Economy and Society, shows that by Jan. 5, 2720, the nation would have only one child age 14 and below.

Yoshida, who maintains a counter that provides an estimated date for when the number of children in the country is reduced to just one, has been releasing estimates every April since 2012.

The simulation is calculated using the annual rate of population decline among children, based on the difference between the number in April from the previous year and the current number.

The latest forecast, which assumes last April's 2.3% annual rate of decline, speeds up the clock by over 100 years compared with the prediction in 2023.

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Japan's birthrate continues to experience a rapid decrease. The most recent data released by the health ministry shows the rate falling to 1.20 in 2023, the lowest ever. In Tokyo, the rate — which refers to the average number of children that women are expected to have in their lifetime — hit 0.99, making it the first city in the nation to have a rate below 1.

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