TOKYO (Reuters) - Alarmed by its
sliding birth rate and rapidly aging population,
Japan is hoping the prospect of lower shopping bills
will encourage couples to go for bigger families.
The government is considering issuing
identity cards to families with children,
whichwould give discounts at stores
cooperating with the program, the Yomiuri Shimbun
daily said on Thursday.
The size of the discounts would be
decided by the stores, which would also be expected
to fund the system in return for favorable publicity
surrounding the plan, the Yomiuri said.
The government is also considering
tax rebates as a way of reducing the economic burden
on parents of young children, which is seen as one
reason for the declining birth rate.
Japan's fertility rate -- the average
number of children a woman bears in her lifetime --
fell to a postwar low of just under 1.29 in 2004.
Demographers say a rate of 2.1 is needed to keep a
population from declining.
The nation's population shrank in the year to
October for the first time since 1945.
