In Japan, a third of today's 18-year-olds may not have children - study

FILE PHOTO: Eita Sato, 15, and Aoi Hoshi, 15, walk along the corridors of Yumoto Junior High School, where they are the only two students, a few days before their graduation and the institution's closing ceremony, in Ten-ei Village, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, March 9, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) - About a third of 18-year-old women in Japan may never have children, a government institute said on Wednesday, in the latest data spelling an uphill battle to reverse a dwindling population in the world's third-largest economy.

The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (IPSS) estimated in a report that 33.4% of women born in 2005 would be childless. The most optimistic scenario had that number at 24.6% and the worst at 42%.