Population policy in eastern Asian low fertility countries

Toru Suzuki, National Institute of Population

Japan’s historically low TFR of 1.57 in 1989 marked the turning point of population policy. The government launched “Angel Plan” and “Gold Plan” to prevent fertility from further decline and to cope with rapid population aging. Although various policy measures have been applied, their effect on fertility has not been successful. The Republic of Korea finally decided to adopt pronatal policy only after the TFR dropped to 1.17 in 2002. The government compiled “Saeromaji Plan” in 2006, which is an integrated package referring to fertility, welfare of children and elderly, economy and labor force. Taiwan’s response to low fertility is even slower, though its TFR is as low as Korea. The publication of “Population Policy White Book” has been delayed due to the protest by a feminist group. This study compares policy responses to low fertility in these three countries.