Japan is considering expanding its child benefits program in order to begin giving ¥10,000 per month per head to high-school age children up to 18 years old, sources said Wednesday.
As part of its efforts to combat the country's falling birthrate, the government is also preparing to double the benefits to ¥30,000 per head for families with a third child or more between the age of 3 and junior high school.
The expansion is a key policy of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, aiming to implement "measures on a different level" to stop the birthrate from declining further. It is also part of a package of measures to be implemented intensively over the three years from April 2024.