Japan's 2000 Birthrate Up Slightly Due to 'Millennium Effect'

Japan's birthrate rose slightly to 1.35 last year from the record low of 1.34 in 1999 in line with a rise in the number of births, probably triggered by the ''millennium effect,'' according to Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry statistics released Wednesday.

The birthrate, which measures the average number of babies born to a woman in her lifetime, increased for the first time since 1996, but the figure stayed under the minimum goal of 1.379 set by the government to promote various social policies such as pension plans.

According to the statistics, 1,190,560 babies were born in Japan last year, up 12,891 from 1999. The figure was attributed to more couples having children on the millennium year.

Meanwhile, there were 798,140 marriages in 2000, the most since 1978, the statistics show.

But the ministry said the data do not mean that the long-term decrease in births has stopped. Japan's birthrate has continued to fall since 1975, when it dropped below 2.

People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/