As births continue to fall, Japan seeks incentives for parents

Robert Besser
27 Jan 2023, 12:11 GMT+10

Japanese Prime minister Fumio Kishida said this week that it was "now or never" for Japan, one of the world's oldest societies, to reverse its shrinking population
Japan, one of the most expensive countries in the world to raise children, has been recently encouraging its adults to have more children with promises of cash bonuses and better benefits
Japan's birth rate plunged to below 800,000 for the first time last year, a new record low and a crucial moment coming eight years earlier than predicted by the government

TOKYO, Japan: Japanese Prime minister Fumio Kishida said this week that it was "now or never" for Japan, one of the world's oldest societies, to reverse its shrinking population, pledging to take urgent steps to reverse the country's declining birth rate.

Japan, one of the most expensive countries in the world to raise children, has been recently encouraging its adults to have more children with promises of cash bonuses and better benefits.

According to official statistics, Japan's birth rate plunged to below 800,000 for the first time last year, a new record low and a crucial moment coming eight years earlier than predicted by the government.

During a policy speech at the opening of this year's parliamentary session, Kishida said, "Our nation is on the cusp of whether it can maintain its societal functions. It is now or never when it comes to policies regarding births and child-rearing, it is an issue that simply cannot wait any longer."

He added that he will announce plans to double the budget for child-related policies by June, and in April, a new Children and Families government agency will be established.

According to YuWa Population Research, Japan is the third-most-expensive country globally to raise a child, behind only China and South Korea, which also have shrinking populations.

Last week, China reported that in 2022, its population decreased for the first time in 60 years.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sydney Sun.

More Information

22 ℃

Cloudy in Sydney

Business

Section

Deloitte agrees to pay $31 mln fine to China after mistakes in audit

BEIJING, China: Following the inability of China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd to release financial reporting obligations in 2020, China ...

UBS to buy Credit Suisse for fraction of its value, Swiss government to underwrite losses

ZURICH, Switzerland - Depositors will be fully protected, shareholders will have their equity dwarfed, while bond holders will be largely ...

SpaceX, Netflix, Boeing join largest US business mission to Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam: SpaceX, Netflix and Boeing will join what is described as the "biggest-ever" U.S. business mission to meet in ...

After winning Apple contract, Foxconn to build factory in India

TAIPEI, Taiwan: Reuters reported that after winning an order to manufacture wireless AirPods earphones for Apple for the first time, ...

Blocking China's chip industry will raise costs, warns founder of TSMC

TAIPEI, Taiwan: The founder of chip manufacturer TSMC, Morris Chang, said that he supports the efforts of the US to ...

Russia plans to take over Toyota's St. Petersburg plant, says TASS

MOSCOW, Russia: State run news agency TASS has reported that Russia's Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said that Japanese ...

International

Section