Japan Allocates Billions to Boost Birth Rate and Support Childcare

The Japanese government has announced a plan to boost financial support for households with children, spending about $25 billion annually to curb falling birth rates. The plan includes monthly allowances for parents, opening up nursery school or day-care center places to children, increasing paid parental leave, and providing subsidies for fertility treatments. The state will no longer use household income as a criterion in providing allowances to parents. The measures are being proposed as annual births last year fell below 800,000 for the first time in Japan, which has the world's second-oldest population after Monaco.