Population Strategy Committee meets Japanese lawmakers to exchange policy experience on low birth rate, aging

The Population Strategy Committee meets with visiting Japanese House of Representatives lawmakers Friday to share South Korea's low birth rate response policies and exchange views on demographic challenges — including low birth rates and aging — common to both countries, and on future cooperation. [Population Strategy Committee]
The Population Strategy Committee meets with visiting Japanese House of Representatives lawmakers Friday to share South Korea's low birth rate response policies and exchange views on demographic challenges — including low birth rates and aging — common to both countries, and on future cooperation. [Population Strategy Committee]

Kim Jin-o, vice chairman of the Population Strategy Committee, said Friday that "since demographic shifts such as low birth rates and aging are challenges both South Korea and Japan face in common, there is a need to actively share policy experience between the two countries and to deepen Korea-Japan cooperation on population policy, focusing on areas of shared interest."

Kim made the remarks at Government Complex Seoul, where he met with Japanese House of Representatives lawmakers visiting South Korea to share the two countries' policy experience in addressing low birth rates and to discuss avenues for bilateral cooperation in responding to demographic changes, including low birth rates and aging.

The visit was arranged at the request of the Japanese side, driven by the lawmakers' interest in South Korea's current efforts and key policies to address its low birth rate.

The Japanese lawmakers noted that while Japan's total fertility rate has continued to fall, South Korea's birth rate has recently shown signs of a rebound, and expressed considerable interest in the factors behind that trend and in South Korea's low birth rate response policies.

In response, Kim outlined the domestic situation and policy measures, saying the government is "expanding the scope of policy and taking a comprehensive approach — going beyond simply supporting childbirth and child-rearing — to give young people hope at every stage of working, getting married, having children and raising them, including through the announcement of bold youth measures last August."

He also said the low birth rate cannot be explained by a decline in marriage alone, diagnosing it as a structural problem driven by a complex interplay of socioeconomic factors including employment, residential conditions, work-life balance, and the burden of childcare and education. He said the Population Strategy Committee plans to organically link the policies of relevant ministries to address these structural factors and develop more effective measures.


thlee@heraldcorp.com