People are being paid to have children to ‘increase birth rates’!

The promise of a little extra money in the bank is what the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in Japan is counting on to persuade more individuals to expand their families by having children. Japan has been working to increase its low and declining birth rate for a while.

A lump sum of 420,000 yen for childbirth and childcare Following the birth of their kid, new parents in Japan are now paid grants. That sum should be raised to 500,000 yen, according to health, labour, and welfare minister Katsunobu Kato. In order to discuss the plan, he met with Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, last week, according to Japan Today. It is believed that the proposal would be adopted and put into effect for the 2023 fiscal year, which starts in the spring.

Although an increase in grant funding of this size is unlikely to discourage anybody from wanting children, it may also not serve as a particularly powerful motivator. Despite the name, there is very little, if any, of the ‘Childbirth and Childcare Lump-Sum Grant,’ following the ‘Childbirth’ section. Even though the prize is funded by Japan’s public medical insurance system, childbirth expenses must be paid for out of pocket; according to Mainichi Shimbun, the national average for delivery costs is around 473,000 yen.

Therefore, even if the grant was raised, parents would still only have an average of 30,000 yen left over when they got home from the hospital, which is less than what Asahi Breweries is providing its staff to spend on holiday dinners. That won’t contribute much to the overall costs of raising a child to adulthood, and it’s unlikely that an additional 80,000 yen will convince anyone to have a baby. The 80,000 yen boost would be the largest ever for the Childbirth and Childcare Lump-Sum Grant and its first since 2009. All things considered, new parents would be thankful for a little extra cash as their family expands.