Tokyo - Japan on Monday reported a record-low number of children aged under 15 as of April 1.

The government released the report ahead of the Children's Day national holiday on Tuesday, which showed that there are 17.14 million children under the age of 15 in Japan.

The number has declined for 28 years as Japan experiences declining birthrates.

Children make up 13.4 per cent of the nation's population, while the ratio of people aged 65 and up was 22.5 per cent, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Japan's population ratio of children was the lowest among the 31 countries listed in the United Nations demographic yearbook as having a population of at least 30 million.

Japan fell behind Germany with a 13.9-per-cent of its population under the age 15, and Italy with 14.1 per cent. (dpa)