The birth rate hit a record low last year and the health ministry said the situation was critical

Japan's fertility rate has fallen for eight years in a row and last year hit a record low, with the local health ministry describing the situation as "critical".

Japan's birth rate last year stood at 1.20, well below the 2.1 children needed to sustain the population, according to Health ministry data released Wednesday, AFP reported.

Last year's birth rate was down from 1.26 in 2022 and the lowest since records began in 1947.

A health ministry official said economic instability, work and child-rearing difficulties were to blame for the low birth rate.

The local parliament approved a revised bill Wednesday to provide more financial support for parents, improve child care services and expand benefits related to parental leave.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stressed that the birth rate is an urgent crisis facing Japanese society.

Although Japan has a higher birth rate than neighboring South Korea, which has the world's lowest birthrate at 0.72, it has the world's oldest population after Monaco, so the government is trying to encourage a baby boom to avoid a demographic crisis.