Gov’t revises PM’s pledge to double Japan’s budget for children

The government on Thursday modified Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s pledge of doubling the Japanese government’s childcare budget from the current 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product to counter the declining birthrate.

The revision came a day after Kishida said during a parliamentary session that Japan’s expenditures to support children and families reached 2 percent of GDP in the fiscal year ending March 2021, and that the government is aiming to “double the amount.”

The remarks raised fears among the public that the government may carry out large-scale tax hikes ahead of a spate...