In his policy speech on Monday, January 23, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged "unprecedented measures to halt the decline in the birth rate and allow everyone to participate in raising children."
The issue of the birth rate dominated the 45-minute speech. A few days earlier, the government had announced that the number of births in 2022 was likely to have fallen below the 800,000 threshold for the first time since birth data was first collected in 1899.
As of January 1, Japan's population was estimated at 124.77 million, down 0.43% year-on-year. Looking at today's population, 29% of the Japanese are over 65 while 11.6% are under 14.
"We are on the verge of not being able to maintain the functioning of society," Kishida said. The decline in the birth rate, which has been steady since the 1970s, accelerated with the Covid-19 epidemic.
It is already leading to labor shortages in a country reluctant to accept immigration and accelerated depopulation in the countryside and increasing difficulties in financing pensions – even though it is now possible to work until 70 – and social security.
Funding for these services accounted for 33.7% of the budget in 2022, twice as much as in 1990.
Voucher system
To boost the birth rate, the government plans to set up a family affairs agency in April to look into improving childcare services and the working environment, as well as increasing monthly family allowances, which should be doubled in June.
The current system provides 5,000 to 15,000 yen (€35-106) per child, depending on the parents' income, until the end of compulsory education at age 15. The government is considering suppressing the income limit and maintaining the allowance until minors reach 18. It could also increase the allowance to 60,000 yen for a third child.
Another measure under consideration is an increase in the 420,000 yen lump-sum childbirth allowance. Katsunobu Kato, the health, labor and welfare minister wants to raise it to 500,000 yen. The government is also considering a voucher system for families with children under two years of age, which could be used to pay for education-related products and services.
In April, with the ambition to fight against rural depopulation in mind, the Japanese government will increase the current aid fixed at 300,000 yen per child to 1 million yen for families who leave the Tokyo metropolis. To be deemed eligible, these families will have to live for at least five years in a rural area.
This aid comes on top of support offered by municipalities. For instance, Tokyo provides aid to cover the cost of pregnancy and on January 13, it announced free daycare for families with a second child.
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