This country is actually encouraging people to add a child to their family. Sounds strange? Well, the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare in Japan is paying people to have babies. Yes, that is true. The reason behind this is to boost the country’s decreasing birth rate. The country has increased the monetary compensation so that people are encouraged to have babies.
More Pay To Boost Birth Rate
In Japan, a Childbirth and Childcare Lump-Sum Grant of 420,000 yen is provided to new parents after the birth of their child. But despite Japan’s medical insurance system, the expenses have to be covered out of it. Noticing this, Japan’s Health Minister, Katsunobu Kato, proposed to increase the amount to 500,000 yen.
Last week, Katsunobu met Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and discussed this proposal. For the fiscal year 2023, it is expected that the change will be approved and put into effect. Around 473,000 yen is the national average for delivery expenses as reported. The move is intended to boost the birth rate in the country.
Highest Grant Ever
The childbirth cost in Japan is very high and has to be covered over and above the grant. This is one of the main reasons why people in Japan do not want to have kids. Even if this proposed grant amount is approved, new parents will be left with only 30,000 yen, which is surely not a huge amount to support a child in Japan.
The proposed amount of increase, 80,000 yen, is the highest increase for the grant ever since it was launched in the year 2009. Japan experienced the fewest births in more than a century, according to government data published in 2021. Reuters reports that there were 8,11,604 births and 14,39,809 deaths in the nation last year, resulting in a 6,28,205 population decrease.
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