In a significant policy shift to tackle Japan's severe decline in birth rates, the Japanese government has offered free college tuition to families with three or more children starting the 2025 academic year. This move is a part of the broader "Children's Future Strategy," which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed in a recent press conference. The strategy is set for a Cabinet decision later this month.
  • tiredofsametab@kbin.social
    121·
    1 year ago

    People aren’t not having kids here because of university. Fix work-life balance and daycare access in the bigger cities if you want more kids. Better, try to incentivize spreading out from Tokyo and revive the old towns out there. Edit: also, stagnant wages and inflation

  • zerfuffle
    6·
    1 year ago

    Maybe, just maybe, make tuition free for domestic students?

  • barrbaric [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    Lol, this kind of means-tested garbage won’t accomplish anything for young people on the fence about having kids. At most it’ll let some older people go back to school for free.

  • TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee
    31·
    1 year ago

    I was scrolling by quickly, and I thought the title was:

    Ke$ha Offers Kids Tuition Free Education.

    I was simultaneously confused and happy for the children.

  • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
    34·
    1 year ago

    While I agree that this isn’t exactly a cure-all, these are the types of measures governments actually need to make to reverse population decline.

    Other countries aren’t doing anything, China offers a one-time payment of up to 3000 bucks for each kid after the first one you make.

    Basically useless.

    This is a substantially larger investment in citizens enticing them to have larger families.