Japan PM says country on the brink over falling birth rate
Japan's prime minister says his country is on the brink of not being able to function as a society because of its falling birth rate.
Japan - population 125 million - is estimated to have had fewer than 800,000 births last year. In the 1970s, that figure was more than two million.
But the issue is particularly acute in Japan as life expectancy has risen in recent decades, meaning there are a growing number of older people, and a declining numbers of workers to support them.
Japan now has the world's second-highest proportion of people aged 65 and over - about 28% - after the tiny state of Monaco, according to World Bank data.
"Focusing attention on policies regarding children and child-rearing is an issue that cannot wait and cannot be postponed."
He said that he eventually wants the government to double its spending on child-related programmes. A new government agency to focus on the issue would be set up in April, he added.
