the number of children in Japan aged 14 and under is the lowest ever. Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released figures yesterday, just before the country's Children's Day national holiday on May the 5th. the figures show that the number of children in Japan fell by 160,000 from the previous year. It is the 33rd year in a row for the birthrate to decrease. There are 13 million fewer children in Japan today than there were in 1950. The Ministry said that out of 30 countries with a population of over 40 million, Japan has the smallest percentage of kids. Children make up 12.8 per cent of Japan's population. In France, the figure is 18.5 per cent and in the United States, it is 19.5 per cent.