The top diplomats of China, Japan and South Korea will meet this weekend in Tokyo. Items on the agenda range from economic issues to regional concerns, but one shared challenge stands out.
How do you solve the problem of a low birth rate? That's a question uniting three Asian countries that don't always see eye to eye on many issues.
It will be on the agenda this Saturday when the foreign ministers of China, South Korea and Japan meet for diplomatic talks.
All three countries face a demographic challenge — younger generations are having children later in life and more couples are not having them at all.
China's birth rate increased slightly last year, the first rise in eight years.
Some city and local governments offer cash subsidies for couples having children, but the Beijing government does not do that on a national level.
Just last month, South Korea reported the first rise in its birth rate in nine years. Some Korean companies now give “childbirth bonuses,” while national government policy adjustments have focused on extending paid parental leave and support for child care and housing.
Japan's birth rate hit a record low last year — the ninth consecutive year of decline. Government policies have not reversed that trend.
The International Monetary Fund reports that when it comes to increasing birth rates, building child care facilities is more effective than giving cash bonuses.
