According to the 2025 demographic statistics released on the 3rd, the total fertility rate was 0.96, the same as the previous year, remaining below 1 for the third consecutive year. Births and marriages increased, and the governor stated, “I am pleased that the hopes of those who wished for this have come true.”
The total fertility rate, which indicates the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, last stood at 2.02 in Tokyo in 1971. Since 2023, it has been the only region nationwide to fall below 1, and had been declining for eight consecutive years, but in 2025 it stabilized.
One reason for the stabilization is the increase in births, which turned positive for the first time in 10 years. In 2025, the number of Japanese children born in Tokyo was 85,064, an increase of 857 from the previous year, which was the lowest since the war. The number of marriages, which also influences medium- to long-term birth rates, increased by 3,040 couples from the previous year to 79,481 couples, rising for the second consecutive year.
Monthly 5,000 yen for every child
Governor Koike, who advocates “Children First,” has leveraged abundant fiscal resources to introduce unique support measures at each stage of marriage, childbirth, and child-rearing.
In 2023, the “018 Support” program providing monthly 5,000 yen to all children aged 0-18 in Tokyo, along with subsidies for egg freezing costs, began. Last autumn, subsidies for childbirth costs started, and free childcare was expanded to include the first child.
This fiscal year, support for marriage-minded individuals to meet…
