Chart of the week: a new baby boom for Japan?

Japan's total fertility rate (TFR),the average number of childrena woman has in her lifetime, hasbeen on the rise in recent years,says Robert Sierra in HalkinServices' weekly newsletter.

In 2015 it hit 1.46, the highestsince 1994. Many hope that thisheralds a structural increase in the birth rate, reflectinggrowing confidence in theeconomy. But it could just be aresult of people having childrenlater in life, which creates aperiod when the birth rate isunusually low but reboundsas people eventually start afamily.

In any case, the TFR isstill far below the 2.1 required tostabilise the population.

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