Japan to Raise Insurance Premiums to Boost Child-Rearing Support

   Tokyo, May 25 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government is expected to raise monthly public medical insurance premiums by an average of about 500 yen per person in order to finance higher spending on child-rearing support, according to an outline of measures aimed at tackling the country's declining birthrate.
   The proposed measures include expanding the coverage of child allowances to include those attending high school and increasing the allowances for a third child and beyond in a family, according to the outline.
   The government aims to secure 3 trillion yen per year in additional funds for the three-year period from fiscal 2024 to intensively implement such measures.
   Of the total, around 1 trillion yen will be secured through raising public insurance premiums. The remaining 2 trillion yen will be raised through slashing social welfare spending and utilizing budgeted funds.
   The government plans to issue stopgap bonds for about the first two years as any increase in public insurance premiums requires a law revision.

(2023/05/25-19:04)

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