Japan PM Kishida: It's 'now or never' to stop shrinking population

Japanese Prime minister Fumio Kishida said he would submit plans to double the budget on child-related policies by June, and that a new government agency to tackle the issue would be set up in April. - Reuters

TOKYO, Jan 23 (Reuters): Japanese Prime minister Fumio Kishida pledged on Monday to take urgent steps to tackle the country's declining birth rate, saying it was "now or never" for the world's oldest society.

"Our nation is on the cusp of whether it can maintain its societal functions," Kishida said in a policy speech at the opening of this year's parliamentary session.