Birthrate in Fukushima Pref. recovers to pre-disaster levels

According to a nationwide population survey for 2013 reported by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on June 4, the total fertility rate — the average number of children born to a woman — stood at 1.53 in Fukushima Prefecture last year, up 0.12 point from 2012. The rate recovered to levels prevailing in the years immediately before the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the ensuing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.

Since the disaster, the Fukushima prefectural government has placed policy emphasis on measures to cope with a population decline as well as fewer babies and population aging. Specifically, it has endeavored to improve the childbearing and rearing environment by offering free medical care for young people aged 18 or less, increasing indoor play areas and expanding a scheme for detecting radioactive materials in school lunch meals, among other things. Read more

(Fukushima Minpo, 5 June 2014)