Govt OK’s Bill to Bolster Measures Tackling Decline in Birth Rate

Jiji Press

11:07 JST, February 17, 2024

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The government adopted at a cabinet meeting on Friday a bill aimed at bolstering measures to tackle the country’s declining birth rate.

The bill to amend related laws includes plans to expand child benefits and establish a scheme allowing any children to enroll in day care establishments regardless of whether their parents work or not.

In order to secure funds necessary for such measures, the government will collect “support funds” widely from the general public, from the people and companies, in the form of extra fees to be added to public medical insurance premiums.

The government is planning to spend ¥3.6 trillion a year through fiscal 2028 on measures tackling the falling birth rate. Such measures will also be financed by existing budgets and through expenditure cuts.

The country plans to start off by securing ¥600 billion in support funds in fiscal 2026.

The amount of money collected under the support fund system will rise to ¥800 billion in fiscal 2027 and ¥1 trillion in and after fiscal 2028.

Such funds per person will come to an average of just under ¥300 a month in fiscal 2026, just under ¥400 in fiscal 2027 and just under ¥500 in fiscal 2028.