Dankai junior (second baby boom)
The children of Japan's baby boomers, born in the second baby boom of 1971–1974. Japan's Cabinet Office defines them as people born 1971–74.
| Birth years used on this page | 1971–1974 |
| Age in 2026 (after birthday) | 52–55 |
| Births in those years | 8,161,627 |
| Peak year | 1973 (2,091,983) |
Who are they?
When the baby boomers became parents, Japan had a second baby boom from 1971 to 1974, with more than 2 million births every year. These children are called dankai junia.
The Cabinet Office's 2005 economic white paper defines the second baby boom generation as people born 1971–74 and calls it the dankai junior generation; this page follows that definition. They finished university just after the bubble burst, overlapping with the start of the employment ice age.
Definition sources (in Japanese): 内閣府「平成17年度 年次経済財政報告」第3章第1節(「第2次ベビーブーム世代(1971年〜74年生まれ世代。以下、団塊ジュニア世代という。)」)
What they lived through, and at what age
Ages are for people born 1971–1974 (the age they turned that year; those not yet born are left out).
| Year | Event | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Okinawa returns to Japan; ties with China normalized | 0–1 |
| 1978 | Narita Airport opens | 4–7 |
| 1985 | The Plaza Accord | 11–14 |
| 1986 | Equal Employment Opportunity Act takes effect | 12–15 |
| 1987 | Japanese National Railways is privatized | 13–16 |
| 1989 | Showa ends, Heisei begins | 15–18 |
| 1990 | The national university entrance test begins | 16–19 |
| 1990 | Stock prices crash; property lending curbed | 16–19 |
| 1991 | The Gulf War and the fall of the Soviet Union | 17–20 |
| 1993 | The employment ice age begins | 19–22 |
| 1995 | The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake | 21–24 |
| 1997 | Consumption tax rises to 5%; major financial firms fail | 23–26 |
| 2001 | The September 11 attacks | 27–30 |
| 2002 | Japan and Korea host the World Cup | 28–31 |
| 2004 | The Chuetsu earthquake in Niigata | 30–33 |
| 2008 | Smartphones arrive | 34–37 |
| 2008 | The 2008 global financial crisis | 34–37 |
| 2009 | Lay judges introduced; change of government | 35–38 |
| 2011 | Switch to digital TV | 37–40 |
| 2011 | The Great East Japan Earthquake | 37–40 |
| 2014 | Consumption tax rises to 8% | 40–43 |
| 2016 | The Kumamoto earthquakes | 42–45 |
| 2016 | Voting age lowered to 18 | 42–45 |
| 2019 | Heisei ends, Reiwa begins | 45–48 |
| 2020 | The COVID-19 pandemic | 46–49 |
| 2021 | The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics | 47–50 |
| 2022 | Age of adulthood lowered to 18; war in Ukraine | 48–51 |
| 2023 | COVID-19 downgraded to a common infectious disease | 49–52 |
| 2024 | The Noto Peninsula earthquake; new banknotes | 50–53 |
| 2025 | Expo 2025 in Osaka | 51–54 |
Public statistics
| Born | Births | University entry rate when they turned 18* | Jobs-to-applicants ratio at 17–18** | at 21–22** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 2,000,973 | 24.4% | 1.25 | 0.76 |
| 1972 | 2,038,682 | 25.4% | 1.40 | 0.64 |
| 1973 | 2,091,983 | 26.3% | 1.40 | 0.63 |
| 1974 | 2,029,989 | 27.9% | 1.08 | 0.70 |
8,161,627 babies were born in Japan in 1971–1974, peaking at 2,091,983 in 1973. When they turned 18, the university entry rate was 24.4–27.9% (33.3–36.4% for men, 15.1–18.9% for women). In the year they were in their last year of university, the jobs-to-applicants ratio ranged from 0.63 to 0.76 (1.0 means one opening per job seeker).
Game simulation: 1,500 lives
We ran 1,500 lives in the Born in Japan simulator for people born 1971–1974, choosing birth years in proportion to actual births and leaving every decision on default. These are game estimates, not statistics.
| Item | Simulation |
|---|---|
| Average age at death | 83.7 years |
| Graduate from university or grad school | 39.7% |
| Ever married by 50 (of those alive at 50) | 73% |
| Regular (full-time) employee at 30 | 69.1% |
| Living in an owned home at 60 | 44.6% |
| Average number of children | 1.43 |
| Lifetime gross earnings, men (median) | ¥202 million |
| Lifetime gross earnings, women (median) | ¥128 million |
| Net worth at 65 incl. home (median) | ¥23 million |
In the game they are part of the "Employment ice age generation" (born 1971–1982).
Real dataStatistics on this page
- Births and total fertility rate: MHLW Vital Statistics (Japanese nationals in Japan; Okinawa excluded until 1972)
- University entry rate: MEXT School Basic Survey (university entrants, including those who entered after a gap year, divided by junior high graduates three years earlier)
- Jobs-to-applicants ratio: MHLW, annual average for all job seekers at public employment offices, not only new graduates
- Definitions: the public documents cited on each page
AssumptionGame simulation
- The "game simulation" table comes from running lives in the Born in Japan simulator with default choices
- Wages and life expectancy are based on public statistics, but marriage, job changes and investing include assumptions without a source. Years after 2026 are the game's assumptions
- Money is in today's yen, adjusted for inflation; expect a margin of a few points
The game starts you in its 1971–1982 generation group; your birth year, prefecture and family are chosen at random within it.
FAQ
What is the Dankai junior (second baby boom)?
The children of Japan's baby boomers, born in the second baby boom of 1971–1974. Japan's Cabinet Office defines them as people born 1971–74.
What years were they born?
This page uses 1971–1974. The range follows the cited Japanese government definition.
How old are they in 2026?
52–55 years old (after their birthday in 2026).
How many people were born in those years?
8,161,627 births in 1971–1974, according to Japan's Vital Statistics.