Prime Minister Naoto Kan raised the possibility Tuesday that the administration may give up on doubling the child-rearing allowance, as touted by the Democratic Party of Japan during the last election, amid continuing fiscal shortfalls.
The DPJ came to power in 2009 with a promise of giving every family ¥26,000 a month per child, but the government provided only ¥13,000 in the current fiscal year. The administration plans to raise it by ¥7,000 for children below the age of 3 next fiscal year.
"We will consider the matter, including whether we can expand it further or whether this is all that is possible," Kan said at a session of the Lower House Budget Committee.
On the proposed repeal of provisional surcharges on gasoline and automobile-related taxes, Kan said the review work "hasn't effectively made progress."