it often refers to a period of more than 2 million births from 1971 to 1974, with the number of births in 1973 peaking at 2.09 million. however, unlike the first baby boom, this increase in the number of births is an increase in the number of births not accompanied by an increase in the total fertility rate. the people born during this period is often called "baby boom junior" (団塊ジュニア, dankai junia, means "the juniors of the generation of nodule").