The estimated number of new adults in Japan as of Friday, those who were born in 2000 and are 20 years old, grew by 20,000 to 1.24 million -- 0.64 million males and 0.60 million females. This was the first increase in two years, according to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.
The percentage of new adults in the total population of 125.56 million also rose for the first time in two years to 0.99%, but remained below 1% for the 11th consecutive year.
The number of new adults reached 2.07 million in 1994, but has since continued a downward trend after the second generation of baby-boomers -- born between 1971 and 1974 -- came of age.
As for people who were born in the Year of the Ox on the Chinese zodiac, the animal for this year, there are 5.17 million males and 5.49 million females, comprising 8.5% of the total population. Of that group, the largest number of 2.11 million were born in 1949, followed by 2.03 million born in 1973, and 1.49 million born in 1961.
Among the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Ox has the third-largest total, following 11.38 million people born in the Year of the Rat and 11.22 million born in the Year of the Boar.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
