I’ve mentioned Japan’s low birthrate and aging epidemic in some previous posts. The government has already offered to pay Japanese couples to have babies. Now Hiroki Kunimura, the project leader for the Yotaro robot, is offering a different solution…

The full CNN article is here.  An excerpt below:

Japan is struggling to find a solution to a pressing population problem. The country, with one of the world’s highest life expectancies, expects that 40 percent of its population will be over the age of 65 by 2050. Add in the nation’s low birth rate, and Japan’s social problem is clear: The country’s population is graying and dwindling every year.

Japan’s lawmakers instituted a radical plan hoping to take on the population crisis. The record budget this year included a provision to pay families 13,000 yen, approximately US $150, per month, per child. The child care subsidy would continue until the child reaches high school.

The hope is that a financial incentive would encourage families to have more children. Lawmakers, though, are already talking about cutting back the program in the wake of Japan’s massive public debt.