Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is deeply concerned about the historically low birth rate in his country. Fewer than 800,000 births have been reported throughout 2022. Kishida had only expected that low point in eight years. He takes measures to make having children more attractive: “It’s now or never.”
Kishida wants to double the budget for child allowance by June through a bill. In addition, he wants to set up a special ministry before April to control the fund. “This matter cannot wait any longer,” said the prime minister.
Japan has been struggling for years with a declining birth rate. In recent years, the Japanese therefore received bonuses and better fringe benefits if they had children.
The lack of births is particularly worrying as Japan’s population is also getting older. As a result, the group of non-working elderly is growing, which can lead to social problems. For example, a record number of Japanese centenarians have been reported for 52 years in a row. Last year there were more than 90,000.
The Japanese government therefore hopes for more babies to turn the tide, but there are no indications that this trend is breaking. For example, recent studies have shown that a historically small proportion of Japanese bachelors plan to get married. This applies to 81 percent of men and 84 percent of women. According to news agency Bloomberg This is the lowest percentage since 1982.
