Japan to pay $670 birth allowance

The Japanese Government has decided to begin paying 100,000 yen (more than $670) of childbirth benefits to pregnant women, Report informs via Kyodo News.

The measure will be included in the comprehensive economic program, which the cabinet will publish soon.

The Government intends to give local authorities the right to decide whether such payments are in cash or coupons for purchasing goods and services for newborns.

The measure is aimed at encouraging the birth rate, which has been falling in Japan for six years in a row. Most young women and men in the country prefer to have only one or no children after marriage, a study published in September by the National Population and Welfare Institute showed.