"Japan's Countermeasures against the Falling Birthrate," Briefing by Minister of State Yuko Obuchi

Foreign Press Center Japan
http://fpcj.jp/

May 8, 2009【Minister of State Yuko Obuchi "Japan's Countermeasures against the Falling Birthrate"】


FPCJ invited on May 8 Ms. Yuko Obuchi, Minister of State for Social Affairs and Gender Equality, to give a briefing on Japan's Countermeasures against the Falling Birthrate. The briefing was attended by 45 people, including foreign correspondents, FPCJ supporting members, and officials from embassies.

Ms. Obuchi started her briefing by saying that if this trend of the falling birthrate continues, the number of new-born babies will decrease to 40% of the present level in 2055. At that time, the population aging rate will be doubled, reducing the productive-age population by 50%.

Based on this projection, Ms. Obuchi presented five viewpoints to take fundamental actions to turn around this trend: (1) Give up neither family nor work, (2) Eliminate insecurity in respect of pregnancy, childbirth and child care, (3) Insure that anyone can receive education without anxiety, (4) Bring up children with disadvantages or with other problems to be healthy, and (5) Make best use of the abilities in our families and communities. She stated that she would wish to secure an additional budget of about 2.5-3 trillion yen, equivalent to 1% of the consumption tax, to raise public awareness and eliminate the anxiety among young people about the future, one of the causes of the declining birthrate.

In the Q & A session, asked how she evaluated the countermeasures taken in the past, she said that the past countermeasures were headed the right direction, but also emphasized that much more expeditious and fundamental measures should be taken.

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