Tue Jan 24, 2023 – 3:16 pm ESTTue Jan 24, 2023 – 3:20 pm EST
TOKYO (LifeSiteNews) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has told the nation’s legislature that the aging country must adopt policies to encourage childbirth or face social collapse.
“[Its n]ow or never when it comes to policies regarding births and child-rearing: it is an issue that simply cannot wait any longer,” Kishida told the National Diet, Japan’s legislature, on Monday. “Japan is standing on the verge of whether we can continue to function as a society.”
The speech marked the beginning of the 150-day regular session of the Diet, according to Japan Today.
Kishida explained that last year the number of births in Japan fell below 800,000 for the first time. The figure, an estimate that comes from statistics gathered by the Japanese government last month, comes eight years before the low was expected.
The prime minister said that the government must adopt policies to “create a child-first economy and society” and announced the formation of the Children and Families Agency. This body, to be set up in April, will oversee government policies to help parents raise children. Kishida also called for government spending on
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