The number of babies born in Japan and to Japanese expatriates in the January to June period fell 3.6 percent from a year earlier to 371,052, government data showed Tuesday.

The number of births in the six-month period suggests that the annual total in the country this year is likely to stay below 800,000, after the figure hit a new record low 799,728 last year.

But the pace of decrease in births for the first half of 2023 slowed from 5.0 percent in the same period last year, the preliminary data by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed.

The data include figures for Japanese nationals living abroad and foreigners residing in Japan.

The growing trend of people marrying later in life or not marrying at all is thought to have exacerbated the birthrate decline, according to the health ministry.

The number of marriages in the six months to June fell 7.3 percent to 246,332, while the number of deaths rose 2.6 percent to 797,716, leading to a population decline of 426,664.

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