In this file photo dated to May 8, 2019, children from a nursery school walk in a street in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will lead a panel of experts to reverse the country's critical decline in birthrate, which dropped to its lowest level ever in 2022, local media said on March 30, 2023. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will lead a panel of experts to reverse the country's critical decline in birthrate, which dropped to its lowest level ever in 2022, local media said on Thursday.
Along with Kishida, the expert panel will comprise Masanobu Ogura, Japan's minister in charge of policies for children, groups working with children, and labor union representatives.
Later this week, a policy to provide more support for parents, including raising child-rearing allocations and easing outlays on higher education borne by parents, will be compiled, public broadcaster NHK said
Later this week, a policy to provide more support for parents, including raising child-rearing allocations and easing outlays on higher education borne by parents, will be compiled, public broadcaster NHK said.
The draft policy will set the parameters of the budget and how it will be financed, with the plan to inform a subsequent comprehensive policy package.
According to recent statistics from the health ministry, the birthrate in Japan in 2022 plummeted to a record low since 1889, with the number of newborns dropping 5.1 percent from the previous year to 799,728.
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The falling birthrate and rapidly aging population are simultaneously hollowing out Japan's taxpaying labor force, leading to Kishida vowing to double budget outlay for child-related programs.
Money allocated to help with child-rearing, coupled with ever-increasing massive outlays for social security costs related to the increasing population of seniors, who comprise a higher proportion of the population than in any country globally, is adding to the country's fiscal woes.
Japan's public debt stands at double the size of the country's gross domestic product and is the worst among developed countries.