TOKYO: A woman in Japan went viral and captured the public’s attention after announcing the birth of her seventh child, amid the country’s falling birth rate.
Japanese writer and former political candidate Kotoe Hashimoto announced on social media platform X on Aug 29 that she had given birth to her seventh child, thanking the medical staff who attended to them.
The post, which includes a photo of Hashimoto cradling her newborn, has been viewed 27 million times on X and received 10,800 likes on Facebook.
In a follow-up post later the same day, she also thanked the public for their congratulatory messages.
“I believe that now is the time for Japanese women to have children,” she said. “The rise and fall of our nation depends on the active role of women.”
Her post struck a chord among the Japanese.
“I think you’re absolutely right. I feel that the key to changing the current state of Japan, which is heading towards (demographic) collapse, is precisely the conscience of Japanese women,” Facebook user Etsugaku Kankou replied to her post.
Another user, Hideto Umegaki, said: “It’s a national treasure to give birth to seven children.”
Hashimoto, who ran as a candidate under the Party of Hope during the 2017 general election, has used her social media accounts to discuss the country’s demographic challenges and advocating for Japanese women to have more children.
She was not elected, and the conservative party, which was founded by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, disbanded in October 2021.
The baby’s birth comes as Japan’s fertility rate fell to a fresh record low in 2025, extending a decade-long slide despite years of government efforts to reverse the trend.
The total fertility rate – the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her childbearing years – slipped to 1.14 from 1.15 a year earlier, according to data by the country’s Welfare Ministry.
The reading was the lowest since comparable records began in 1947.
Japan, one of the world’s oldest societies, faces mounting demographic pressures.
A shrinking workforce and rising social security costs are placing strain on public finances at a time when the government is also seeking to fund higher defence spending and other growth initiatives. - The Straits Times/ANN
