Japan no longer knows what to do to get Japanese people to have children. So it is setting up free daycare centers across the country

Japan is expanding free childcare nationwide as births keep falling for a tenth straight year.

The policy starts with free daycare and preschool for ages 3 to 5, aiming to ease child-rearing costs.

Tokyo will go further from September 2025, covering younger children and even firstborns.

The move is a major test of whether lower childcare costs can help slow Japan’s demographic decline.