Japan’s low birth rate and ageing population present an urgent risk to society, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated on Monday. He pledged to tackle this issue by establishing a new government agency. While declining birth rates are a concern in many developed countries, Japan faces a particularly severe situation, as it has the world’s second-highest proportion of individuals aged 65 and over, following only Monaco, according to World Bank data.
In a policy address marking the start of a new parliamentary session, Kishida revealed that the number of births in Japan fell below 800,000 last year, based on estimates. He emphasized the critical nature of the situation, stating, “Japan is standing on the verge of whether we can continue to function as a society.” He asserted that addressing policies related to children and child-rearing is an urgent matter that cannot be postponed.
The conservative leader outlined his plans, which include launching the new Children and Families Agency in April, aimed at supporting parents and ensuring the sustainability of Japan’s economy, the third-largest in the world. Kishida expressed his intention for the government to eventually double its spending on child-related programs, stating, “We must build a child-first social economy to reverse the (low) birth rate.”
Japan, with a population of 125 million, has long grappled with the challenge of providing for its rapidly growing elderly population. Similar trends in declining birth rates are observed in other countries, including Japan’s closest neighbors, driven by factors such as rising living costs, increased participation of women in the workforce, and individuals opting to have children later in life. Recent official data indicated that China’s population shrank in 2022 for the first time in over six decades.
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