graying_society

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Government plan to stop Japan's birthrate falling will not work
Akahata editorial, May 19 (excerpts)

A government panel discussing steps to halt falling birthrate has published a report that will be included in the government's "2006 basic policy" due to be completed in June.

The Liberal Democratic Party government must be held responsible for the falling birthrate, which is increasingly serious, because of its neoliberal economic policy that increases the poverty rate and the social gap in Japan and undermines the minimum social rules necessary to maintain worthwhile living conditions.

It stands to reason that the report calls for reducing economic burdens of conception and child birth related costs.

However, the report basically calls for shifting more burdens onto the public, stressing that measures need to be taken to sustain families with children by mobilizing volunteer resources that relieve the government of its responsibility.

The report calls for cutting expenditures on programs for the elderly on the ground that they are sufficiently funded and redirecting more money for children- and families-related measures.

If the report is implemented, it will destroy the existing social service systems related to preschool childcare, education costs, scholarships, and other programs.

Worse still, the report calls for the establishment of a child-care insurance and a child-rearing fund for growing child to stop the shrinking Japanese population, saying that the cost for the child care facilities must be shared by the society.

If these plans are included in the Koizumi Cabinet's "2006 basic policy," Japan's birthrate will not stop falling.

The need now is to restrict the outrageous activities of major corporations and business circles, stabilize the employment situation, and improve labor conditions, as well as implement comprehensive measures on welfare, education, and families.

We will not allow the government to use the falling birthrate issue as a lever to shift greater burdens onto the public.
- Akahata, May 19, 2006