The government will set up a panel by the end of the month to craft a strategic plan to counter the rapidly falling birthrate, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Tuesday.
The panel, consisting of Cabinet ministers and experts, will try to come up with the measures by next summer, the top government spokesman said.
The government will also hold a meeting of Cabinet ministers and top officials from economic and labor circles in October to launch a national movement to encourage working men and women to take time off to raise their children, Hosoda said.
The Cabinet Office has recently set up an office dedicated to the birthrate problem, said Justice Minister Chieko Noono, who doubles as minister in charge of measures to counter the falling birthrate.