SW News: The Japanese government has authorized several new measures, including enhanced financial assistance to families to stop the worrisome decrease in the birthrate in the nation. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will allot an annual budget of almost 3.5 trillion yen ($25 billion) for the initiatives over three years from 2024 to 2027.

Kishida said one of the main causes of the drop in the birthrate is the younger generation's inadequacy of income. "If we do not slow down the rapidly declining birthrate and population decline, our nation's economy will shrink, and it will be challenging to maintain our social security systems, including local communities, pensions, healthcare, and nursing care," Kishida said.

Japan had 799,728 births in 2022, the fewest ever, underscoring the urgent need for action to stem the birth rate decline. The lump-sum payment for childbirth will rise from 420,000 to 500,000 yen, or around $3,500, in value. Public health insurance will also pay for delivery costs to offer further financial support.

Additionally, each child under the age of three would receive a monthly child stipend of 15,000 yen, while kids in third grade through senior high school will receive a monthly allowance of 10,000 yen. A monthly allowance of 30,000 yen will be given to families with a third child and subsequent children until they graduate from senior high school. The elimination of income restrictions for recipients of government child-rearing allowances will provide greater access to financial assistance.

The nation also wants to increase the number of universities that waive tuition fees and provide free higher education to students. The government plans to implement expenditure reforms to obtain funds for these initiatives.

Haruka Sakamoto, a senior scholar at The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, claims that the rise in the proportion of single persons, which she attributes to issues including uncertain employment and poor salaries, is a significant contributor to Japan's dropping birth rate.

During a press conference in Tokyo, Sakamoto stated that the rise in the number of single individuals is not primarily due to a change in value. She said the true explanation is that they weren't able to marry or have children even if they wanted to due to the 'ice age generation' or job-shortage generation and the stagnation of economies that followed.