Japan’s PM Kishida vows to boost child-rearing budget to 4% of GDP

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged Wednesday to boost Japan’s budget for child-rearing to 4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product to tackle the falling birthrate, but he did not elaborate on how to secure the costs.

During a parliamentary session, Kishida said Japan’s expenditures for policies designed to support children and families reached 2 percent of GDP in the fiscal year ending March 2021, and the government is aiming to “double the amount.”

Although Kishida has expressed eagerness to double spending to fight the declining birthrate, saying that focusing on child policies is...