Top �� What's up around the Prime Minister �� September, 2003

The First Meeting of the Council on Measures for Society with Decreasing Birthrate Wednesday, September 10, 2003 The First Meeting of the Council on Measures for Society with Decreasing Birthrate was held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. The Council, based on the Basic Law on Measures for Society with Decreasing Birthrate established at the previous 156th session of the Diet, was newly established inside the Cabinet Office with the Prime Minister as the Chair and all Cabinet members as its members. The Council is to discuss the important items concerning the measures to be taken in the society with decreasing birthrate; promote the implementation of necessary measures; and coordinate relevant administrative organizations. At the meeting, decision was made to formulate a draft of the "Outline of Measures for Society with Decreasing Birthrate" by around May 2004 in response to the decreasing birthrate, after broadly gathering opinions from various circles of the people. At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said, "Even in Europe and the United States where women move aggressively into the business world, the birthrate is higher than Japan. The decreasing birthrate is an issue to be tackled by the society as a whole. There is a need to take comprehensive assistance measures, including the assistance for a balance between work and family duties and childcare assistance in the local community. I would like the Government as a whole to work on measures for our society with decreasing birthrate."