The Cabinet on Friday approved a ¥2 trillion package to expand the scope of free education and child care services as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to address challenges to long-term growth posed by Japan's declining birthrate and aging society.
The government hopes the policy package, consisting of ¥1.7 trillion from tax revenue and ¥300 billion sourced from corporate contributions, will help aging Japan maintain its global competitiveness.
But details, including how the total sum will be allocated for each policy measure, have yet to be hashed out, and restoring the country's fiscal health, the worst among advanced countries, will become even more of a challenge.