<span style="color: #222222;">The number of babies born in Japan fell to a record low last year, as more couples put off marriage and starting a family amid a global pandemic.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">According to Japanese Health Ministry, the number of births fell to 8,40,832 in 2020, down 2.8 per cent from a year earlier and the lowest since records began in 1899. It added that the number of registered marriages in Japan fell 12.3 per cent last year to 525,490, a post-war record. The country's fertility rate also declined to 1.34, among the lowest in the world.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">       </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Coronavirus outbreak has hit birth rates around the world, including in the United States, despite early speculation that pandemic-related lockdowns may lead to a global baby boom.</span><br />