Japan’s prime minister is sounding the alarm about his country’s declining population and calling for measures to help one of the world’s oldest societies replenish its citizen base.
“Our nation is about to decide whether it can maintain its social functions,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a political speech at the opening of this year’s parliamentary session.
“It’s now or never when it comes to policies related to births and parenting, it’s an issue that simply can’t wait any longer,” he added.
The prime minister said he will present a plan that will double child-related incentives for the summer after the country recorded a record number of births in 2021.
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Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio participates in a meeting with President Biden in the Oval Office of the White House on January 13, 2023.
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Kishida’s comments come as Japan has embarked on several different efforts to help encourage families to move to rural areas that have suffered from population declines, including offering families 1 million yen ($7,500) per child, to move from Tokyo to the countryside.
Rural towns and villages have marketed themselves as family-friendly areas with lovely locations, easy access to childcare and the availability of young men as the country continues to witness lower birth rates and a struggling economy.
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The illuminated Tokyo Tower, top left, among illuminated commercial and residential buildings at night in Tokyo.
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The number of births in Japan totaled 811,604 in 2021, which was the lowest recorded since the statistic began tracking in 1899. At the same time, the number of people aged 100 and over stands at 90,500 compared to just 153. in 1963.
The government also recently announced a plan to provide benefits of 5,000 yen ($38) per person per month to Tokyo residents age 18 and younger to help parents with the cost of their children’s education.
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President Biden poses for photographs with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio after his arrival at the White House on January 13, 2023.
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Tokyo has also implemented a “Babies First” program that provides 100,000 yen gift cards to parents whose children were born after January 2009 to use for child care items.
Sarah Rumpf of Fox News and Reuters contributed to this report.
