Maneki Neko
06-07-2007, 06:10 PM
Fertility rate up but population still shrinking
<DIV id=credit>Kyodo News
<DIV id=mainbody>
2006 saw the nation's fertility rate rise for the first time in six years, reaching 1.32, up 0.06 point from a record low of 1.26 in 2005, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said in a report released Wednesday.
Health ministry officials attributed the 2006 rise to rising numbers of marriages and births in the wake of the nation's economic recovery, which has improved labor conditions. However, some experts have said the 2006 rise is only a reaction to the unexpectedly sharp decrease in 2005.
Read the full story at Japan Times Online (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070607a2.html)
<DIV id=credit>Kyodo News
<DIV id=mainbody>
2006 saw the nation's fertility rate rise for the first time in six years, reaching 1.32, up 0.06 point from a record low of 1.26 in 2005, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said in a report released Wednesday.
Health ministry officials attributed the 2006 rise to rising numbers of marriages and births in the wake of the nation's economic recovery, which has improved labor conditions. However, some experts have said the 2006 rise is only a reaction to the unexpectedly sharp decrease in 2005.
Read the full story at Japan Times Online (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070607a2.html)