Japan vows to boost child allowances to tackle falling birthrate

Japan's government pledged Friday to remove an income limit for child-rearing allowances in a draft policy package, alongside increasing benefits for families with multiple children in an effort to tackle the country's rapidly declining birthrate.But the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stopped short of clarifying how it would fund such measures, including whether it intends to raise taxes, with critics labeling the initiatives as "pork barrel" policies in the run-up to a series of local elections in April.Kishida, who took office in October 2021, has expressed his eagerness t…READ FULL ARTICLE