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Japan’s birth rate policy could be funded by government bonds, says ruling party heavyweight

  • Hiroshige Seko, the LDP’s secretary general for the upper house, says funding for child-related policies through government bond issuance ‘should be allowed’
  • Births in Japan plunged to a record low of just below 800,000 last year, according to official records

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A mother and a child play under a cherry blossom tree at Shinjuku Gyoen park in Tokyo in February 2023. Photo: AFP
Reuters
Japan’s efforts to counter the country’s declining birth rate by doubling the budget for child-related policies could possibly be covered by government bonds, a ruling party heavyweight lawmaker said in a television programme broadcast on Sunday.

“I think it’s completely plausible to consider covering it with government bonds,” Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker Hiroshige Seko said during a segment on BS TV Tokyo regarding the government’s policy to take “unprecedented” steps in countering Japan’s falling birth rate.

Seko, currently the LDP’s secretary general for the upper house, said there needed to be a discussion on whether to fund the policy with government bonds, taxes, an insurance scheme, or a combination of different sources, but added that funding through government bond issuance “should be allowed”.

Births in Japan plunged to a record low of just below 800,000 last year, according to official records.

02:01

Kishida issues urgent warning on Japan’s shrinking population, saying it poses serious societal risk

Kishida issues urgent warning on Japan’s shrinking population, saying it poses serious societal risk
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged in January to tackle the country’s declining birth rate by submitting plans to double the budget for child-related policies by June.
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