Japan Creates New Government Agency to Counter Sharp Decline in Birth Rate

The Japanese government on Saturday launched a new agency to oversee the country's child policies as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government grapples with a declining birth rate.

The official Japanese Kyodo News Agency stated in a report on its website that the new Children and Families Authority, which will be under the direct supervision of Prime Minister Kishida, will face a wide range of challenges including a serious decline in the birth rate, child abuse, and poverty, to serve as a " Watchtower" in developing new policies.

According to the "Kyodo" report, the launch of the new Children and Families Authority comes at a time when the number of newborns in the country decreased last year to less than 800,000 for the first time since birth records began in 1899, which prompted Kishida to warn that Japan is "on the brink" of losing her social ability.

The Japanese government has allocated about 4.8 trillion yen (36 billion US dollars) for the new body for the fiscal year starting in April.