“When it comes to birth and parenting policies, it’s now or never – that’s an issue that just can’t wait any longer.” and encourage citizens to have more children with cash rewards and better social benefits.
Still, Japan remains one of the most expensive countries in the world to raise a child. According to official estimates, this is one of the reasons why the number of births fell to a new record low last year: it fell below the 800,000 mark for the first time – a turning point that came eight years earlier than the government had expected.
Average age at 49
That is likely to result in a further decline in population in a country where the median age is 49 – the highest in the world, surpassed only by the small city-state of Monaco. In addition, unlike other industrial nations such as the USA or Canada, Japan does not rely on immigration.
Kishida therefore announced plans to double the budget for child-related measures by June. As early as April, a new government agency for children and families is to be set up to deal with this issue.
Third most expensive country for families
According to the YuWa Population Research Institute, Japan is the third most expensive country to raise a child. The only countries ahead are China and South Korea, which are also experiencing population declines. These are worrying signs for the world economy, since these three countries are among the pillars of the global economy. In China, the population fell last year for the first time since 1961, the last year of the great famine.
Money to escape from the city
Most recently, the Japanese government made people sit up and take notice with an unusual offer: Families who move away from Tokyo receive at least one million yen per child – almost 7,500 euros. The government has thus tripled the previous “resettlement bonus” according to the British newspaper “Guardian”. According to Japanese media, the financial stimulus is part of an official plan of action to revitalize dying towns and villages in Japan’s hinterland.
Many rural regions are particularly hard hit by the aging population and the emigration of young people.
The main target group of the campaign are families with children up to the age of 18. They are intended to revitalize rural regions and relieve the greater Tokyo area. With around 35 million inhabitants, Tokyo is the largest metropolis in the world.
The government hopes to be able to relocate around 10,000 people by 2027 thanks to the city exodus bonus. This is of course just a drop in the ocean.
It remains to be seen whether the additional measures that have now been announced and a new authority will help turn things around. The country has little to lose: according to current statistics, the population could shrink by around a third in the next 45 years.
