The number of households in Japan with children fell below 10 million in 2022 for the first time since comparable data became available in 1986, government data showed on July 4, providing a fresh reminder of the country's rapidly declining birthrate.
The total fertility rate in Japan dropped for the seventh straight year in 2022, government data showed on June 2, as the country continues to struggle with a rapidly declining birthrate.
Japan says it will increase its spending on child care to a level on par with countries like Sweden, doubling it from the current size by the early 2030s as the rapidly aging nation aims to reverse the declining birthrate.
The government is considering issuing bridge bonds as early as fiscal 2024 to make up for an expected shortfall in funding to boost child-rearing support, a key policy goal of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, according to sources with knowledge of the plan
Apart from the falling birthrate, the lack of childcare workers and parents' preferences for certain facilities are believed to be attributed to the shortfall, according to a report.