|
Japan has in recent years been trying to encourage its people to
have more children with promises of cash bonuses and better
benefits, but it remains one of the most expensive places in the
world to raise a child, according to surveys.
Births plunged to a new record low last year, according to
official estimates, dropping below 800,000 for the first time -
a watershed moment that came eight years earlier than the
government had expected.
That most likely precipitated a further population decline in a
country where the median age is 49, the highest in the world
behind only the tiny city-state of Monaco.
"Our nation is on the cusp of whether it can maintain its
societal functions," Kishida said in a policy speech at the
opening of this year's parliamentary session.
"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.
Kishida said he would submit plans to double the budget for
child-related policies by June, and that a new Children and
Families government agency to oversee the issue would be set up
in April.
Japan is the third-most-expensive country globally to raise a
child, according to YuWa Population Research, behind only China
and South Korea, countries also seeing shrinking populations in
worrying signs for the global economy.
Other countries are also coming to grips with ageing and
shrinking populations. Last week, China reported that its
population dropped in 2022 for the first time in 60 years.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by John Geddie and Gerry
Doyle)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
