AKIPRESS.COM - Japan’s Internal Ministry published on its website a report that shows that the country’s population has continued to shrink for the third year in a row.

The proportion of those 65 years old and up has also risen to a new record, highlighting the increasing problem of an aging population in the world’s third largest economy.

As of October 1 last year, Japan’s population has decreased by .17% to 127.3 million, making one of the lowest birthrates in the world. A quarter of the country’s total population is made up of people 65 years old and above, while those up to 14 years old is now just 12.9% of the population.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga emphasized that this problem is “getting more serious”, underscoring the “remarkable” scale of the falling population, according to Japan Daily Press. 

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration believes that one of the immediate solutions would be to increase the participation of women in the labor force, helped along by better child-care provisions and creating a better working environment for them.