Tokio.- The Japanese government presented a new plan on Friday to reverse the downward trend in birth rates in the country, reports The Japan Times.
The proposal, announced by Masanobu Ogura, the minister in charge of children’s policies, includes support for single-parent families, greater financial aid, more generous student loans for higher education and greater access to childcare services, among other measures.
In 2022, the number of babies born in Japan fell below 800,000 for the first time since 1899, the year the government began collecting birth data. Specifically, in 2022, 799,728 children were born in the country, which not only represents a drop of 5.1% compared to 2021, but also marks the seventh year of historical lows.
Added to the fall in births is an increase in the number of deaths. Thus, last year 1.58 million deaths were recorded, 8.9% more than those registered in 2021.
What other measures does the government plan include?
To combat this challenge, the Government will create a new panel headed by the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, which will discuss issues on children’s policies, collects Nikkei Asia.
Likewise, the Agency for Children and the Family will be launched, which plans to reduce the financial burden of childbirth and strengthen economic benefits for families, so that raising children is not a financial problem. Masanobu Ogura is reported to be the Cabinet official responsible for the agency.
Thus, parents will be able to get a subsidy of 100,000 yen (about $750) for each newborn. In addition, the one-time birth allowance will increase from 420,000 to 500,000 yen (more than $3,700).
At the same time, the central government will stop reducing subsidies to municipal governments that offer free health care to children of primary school age and above.
Meanwhile, the plan provides for the possibility of making school lunches free. It is also proposed to strengthen aid to companies that employ single-parent families and introduce other benefits such as reducing the qualification period.
“I believe that our country should aspire to a society in which young people and those who are engaged in raising children can directly feel the joy of taking care of children without feeling anxious about various things,” Ogura said at a conference press.
However, critics of the plan noted that the prime minister’s administration avoids clarifying the extent to which it would raise taxes to finance the budget for such measures.
