A government panel began discussions on Monday to secure financial resources for what Prime Minister Fumio Kishida calls a new level of measures to deal with the declining birthrate.
In the seventh meeting of Children's Future Strategy Council, Kishida, who chairs the council, instructed relevant ministers to draw up a road map for securing necessary funds by reducing social security spending and consider starting a new aid program. Details will be worked out by year-end.
In June, the government released a strategic policy for children's future that defines the three years from fiscal 2024 as an intensive period of action to tackle the declining birthrate. The government plans to boost the related budget by ¥3.5 trillion annually under the policy.