The leaders of Japan and Australia have issued a joint declaration outlining cooperation in economic security. The guidelines center on strengthening supply chains for energy, critical minerals, food and other key resources. Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae held talks with her Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese on Monday.
Japanese government data shows the number of children in the country has fallen to 13.3 million. The figure has declined for a 45th consecutive year. The internal affairs ministry estimates there were 13.29 million children aged 14 or younger as of April 1, down 350,000 from a year earlier. Boys account for 6.81 million of the total, compared to 6.48 million girls.
Children’s Day displays are being shown at a traditional thatched-roof house in Tokyo ahead of the May 5 celebration. The home on the grounds of a museum in Nerima ward was built in the late 1880s. It has been designated as a cultural asset by the ward. A family in the ward bought the displays between the mid-1950s and early 1960s for a baby boy. They include a warrior’s helmet, a drum and flags showing a family crest.