Japan's 18-year-olds rise to 1.09 mil., yet still 2nd lowest

The number of 18-year-olds in Japan totaled 1.09 million as of Wednesday, a government estimate showed, up by 30,000 from last year but marking the second-lowest figure on record as the country continues to grapple with a declining birthrate.Of those who have reached Japan's legal adult age, 560,000 were men and 530,000 were women, accounting for 0.88 percent of the total population, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Tuesday.The year 2006, when the new adults were born, had seen the country's total fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman is estimated …READ FULL ARTICLE