Japan's population is 'heading straight down', country will 'disappear': PM Kishida's top advisor

Japan will disappear if it can’t slow a fall in its birth rate, PM Fumio Kisida's top aide has cautioned.

'It’s not falling gradually, it’s heading straight down,' said Mori, an upper house lawmaker and former minister who advises Kishida on the birthrate problem and LGBTQ issues.

'A nosedive means children being born now will be thrown into a society that becomes distorted, shrinks and loses its ability to function', Bloomberg reported.

Japan on February 28 announced the number of babies born last year slumped to a record low.

Last year, about twice as many people died as were born in Japan, with fewer than 800,000 births and about 1.58 million deaths. An alarmed Kishida has vowed to double spending on children and families in a bid to control the slide, which is progressing even faster than forecast.

The population has fallen to 124.6 million from a peak of just over 128 million reached in 2008, and the pace of decline is increasing. Meanwhile the proportion of people 65 or over rose to more than 29% last year. While South Korea has a lower fertility rate, Japan’s population is shrinking faster.