Japan considers offering even more money to new parents as birth rate crashes

Number of births in Japan expected to fall to 740,000 in 2040

The Japanese government is mulling paying more money to citizens to encourage them to have more children in the wake of an alarming decline in its birth rate.

Japan at present allots a Childbirth and Childcare Lump-Sum Grant of ¥420,000 (£2,485) to new parents after childbirth. The ministry of health, labour and welfare has proposed increasing the grant money to ¥500,000 (£2,959).

Health minister Katsunobu Kato held a meeting with prime minister Fumio Kishida last week to discuss the proposal, Japan Today reported. The renewed grant is likely to be approved by the parliament and put into effect from the 2023 fiscal year.

The world’s third-largest economy saw a record low number of childbirths this year, in what the government described as a “critical situation”.

The total 599,636 Japanese born from January till September this year was 4.9 per cent below last year’s figure, suggesting the number of births for 2022 might fall below last year’s record low of 811,000 babies.

The number of births is expected to fall to 740,000 in 2040.

Japan’s aging population has been a concern for the economy and national security. The country’s population of more than 125 million is projected to reduce to 86.7 million by 2060, reported the Associated Press.

A fertility rate of 2.1 is required for a population to remain stable without migration. Japan’s rate is presently at 1.3.

In late November, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno promised comprehensive measures to encourage more marriages and births, even though the government's effort so far has had limited impact.

“The pace is even slower than last year... I understand that it is a critical situation,” Mr Matsuno said.

The minimal increase in sanction money is unlikely to inspire the Japanese population to have more children, given child delivery expenses are borne entirely by expecting parents despite the sanctioned money being funded by the country’s public medical insurance system.

According to reports, the nationwide average for delivery costs can go up to approximately ¥473,000 (£2,795). That leaves parents with less than ¥30,000 (£177) once they step out of the hospital post delivery.

The increase in the Childbirth and Childcare Lump-Sum Grant, however, would be its largest since 2009.