Report:
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's health ministry plans to continue boosting spending
to make parenthood more attractive to childless married couples, as part
of a major push to reverse the country's declining birthrate, a Japanese
newspaper reported Thursday.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is expected to request more than
1 trillion yen ($ 8.4 billion) to broaden the scope of childcare services,
the national Asahi newspaper said. That figure is about 5.5 percent of
the ministry's total annual spending.
About 500 billion yen ($ 4.2 billion) - the biggest chunk of outlays
- would go toward expanding and increasing the flexibility of child daycare
services for working parents, while 270 billion yen ($ 2.27 billion) would
be spent on job training for single mothers who want to return to the work
force, the daily said.
The remaining outlays would be spent on maternity health services, subsidies
for companies that provide paternity leave and other welfare programs for
families, according to the report.
A ministry official, who declined to be identified, said the budget
for childcare services has been steadily rising since 2000, when the government
first drew up plans to stem the birthrate fall. He said next year's budget
request would likely rise, but refused to discuss details.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has given his Cabinet minister until
September to come up with policies to make it easier to raise children.
Policymakers worry that there will soon be fewer working people to cover
the costs of the aged.
Japan's birthrate has fallen steadily over the last 30 years to only
1.35 births per woman - well below the rate of 2.1 needed just to keep
the population stable.
The declining birthrate means that the country's population could peak
at around 127 million as early as 2006 and fall rapidly over the next 50
years to roughly 100 million, from the current 126 million. Meanwhile,
the graying of Japan is forecast to accelerate with people over 65 becoming
35.7 percent of the population by 2050, roughly double the 17.4 percent
in 2000.
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The Associated Press. All rights reserved.