« Complications of Life and Death | Main | Judge a book by its cover »
March 13, 2005
Where's my check?
Oh, wrong country.
Japanese town paying women to have 3rd child
Yamatsuri will hand mothers a lump sum of $4,800 within three months after giving birth to a third baby. The women will then be given $480 each year between the child's second and 11th birthday, Takanobu said.
Last year, 50 babies were born in Yamatsuri, up from 40 in 2003, Takanobu said.
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
Comments
The story of Yamatsuri in Fukushima Prefecture is more complicated than just a quaint notion of paying couples cash to have a third child to make more Japanese.
If the town cannot keep its population up, it will be merged with another. It is desperately trying to remain independent.
The town has also refused to participate in the new Japanese National Identification program.
For all these rebellious actions, the mayor of Yamatsuri was in the dog house in 2003.
[block quote]
Yamatsuri in Fukushima prefecture, desperate to avoid being pushed into a merger, submitted the bill to the municipal assembly Tuesday and expected to pass Thursday."We have to increase the population if the town is to remain an independent entity," Mayor Yoshikazu Nemoto said.
[end block quote]
This fight has been going on between the Town and the Prefecture since last October 2003.
The town is trying to get back to a population of 10,000 to preserve independence.
It's not just about more cute Japanese babies.
It's about local politicians protecting their little empires.
Posted by: Zhou De-Ming at Mar 13, 2005 8:35:28 PM
test
Posted by: rikard at Mar 21, 2005 6:30:22 AM
Dear Sirs
Any initiative to increase the wests birthrates is good. This will avoid the rich countries to steal educated persons from the poor countries.
With a world birth rate of 2.0 this is the most crucial question of all.
To survive you need 2.1
If a country does not has 2.1 it is brian-stealing country.
Europe is upblown and egocentric.
rikard
Posted by: rikard at Mar 21, 2005 6:34:49 AM
