Japan's child population declining for 29 years

May fifth is Children's Day in Japan. The country's child population has fallen for the 29th straight year to nearly 17-million.

A government estimate puts the number of children under 15 as of April 1st at 16.94-million. This is down 190,000 from a year ago.

There were 8.68-million boys and 8.26-million girls.

Children accounted for 13.3 percent of Japan's total population, another record low. This is down 0.1 points from a year ago and the 36th year-on-year decline.

By prefecture, Okinawa had the highest percentage of children at 17.7 percent, as of October. Akita had the lowest with 11.2 percent.

The percentage in Tokyo stood at 11.9 percent, up 0.1 points. It is the only prefecture with an increase in its child population.