Japan ‘will disappear’ if people don’t have more babies, PM’s aide says
- ‘If we go on like this, the country will disappear,’ said a lawmaker and former minister who advises Japan’s PM on the birth rate problem
- Last year, about twice as many people died as were born in Japan, with fewer than 800,000 births and about 1.58 million deaths
Last year, about twice as many people died as were born in Japan, with fewer than 800,000 births and about 1.58 million deaths. An alarmed Kishida has vowed to double spending on children and families in a bid to control the slide, which is progressing even faster than forecast.
If nothing’s done, the social security system would collapse, industrial and economic strength would decline and there wouldn’t be enough recruits for the Self-Defence Forces to protect the country, she added.
While reversing the slide now would be extremely difficult due to the fall in the number of women of child-bearing age, the government must do everything it can to slow the plunge and help mitigate the damage, Mori said.
Kishida has yet to announce the content of his new spending package, but has said it will be “on a different dimension” from previous policies. So far he’s mentioned increasing child allowances, improving childcare provision and changing working styles.
‘Critical situation’: fast-shrinking Japan records fewest births in 123 years
But critics contend that throwing money at families who have children is not enough to address the problem. A paper from a government panel on gender equality said comprehensive changes are needed that include reducing the burden on women of raising children and making it easier for them to participate in the workforce after giving birth.
Mori criticised what she said was a tendency to think about the issue separately from finance, trade and particularly from female empowerment.
“Women’s empowerment and birth rate policies are the same,” she said. “If you deal with these things separately, it won’t be effective.”