The government on Thursday convened its first meeting to discuss what Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called “measures of unprecedented levels” to tackle Japan’s declining birthrate.
Participants in the meeting included officials from the welfare ministry, the education ministry and the finance ministry, as well as an office involved in establishing the Children and Families Agency in April. The members plan to come up with specific measures by the end of March.
“Measures regarding the declining birthrate are a top priority for the Kishida administration,” said Masanobu Ogura, the minister in charge of the measures and who chaired Thursday’s meeting. “We want to break down the ministerial barriers and come up with bold unprecedented draft proposals.”