TOKYO: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday that Japan's aging population and low birth rate present an immediate risk to society and he pledged to address the problem by creating a new government agency.

In many developed countries, the birth rate is declining, but Japan is particularly affected because it has the second highest percentage of people 65 and older in the world, after the tiny kingdom of Monaco.

In a speech to the legislature to open a new session of parliament, Kishida informed lawmakers that the number of births is estimated to be less than 800,000 last year. He said that Japan is at a crossroads about whether we can continue to move forward as a society.

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The issue of focus on laws relating to children and parenting cannot be stopped or delayed. The Conservative leader claimed his initiatives, such as the new Children and Families agency set up in April, were designed to aid parents and guarantee "stability" of the world's third-largest economy. in the long run.

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Kishida said he wants the government to double the amount spent on initiatives that benefit children. To increase the birth rate, he said, "we must create a social economy that gives priority to children."

With 125 million people, Japan has long struggled with how to care for its rapidly growing elderly population. Birth rates are slowing in many countries, including Japan's closest neighbors, due to factors such as the rising cost of living, an increase in the number of working women, and people delaying having children.

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China's population will decline in 2022 for the first time in more than 60 years, according to official data released last week.