Japan to bring children back

Government officials in Japan want to develop a comprehensive plan to combat the nation's declining birth rate.

In December, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Japan's population had been falling since its December 2004 peak of 127.8 million people. The decline is Japan's first population drop since it began collecting census data in 1899.

Government officials said they would develop a plan that would include economic and corporate-sector incentives to boost the sagging birth rate, Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

Proposals to be considered include increasing government allowances for children 3 and younger, waving or reducing preschoolers' medical fees and encouraging women who left work to rear their children to return to their jobs, UPI reports.

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