Low Number of Babies Born in Japan Recorded

Fewer babies were born in Japan in the last year than any other on record, pulling down its population for the third year in a row, according to government statistics released this week. As of the end of March, Japan had more than 260,000 fewer people than a year earlier, the biggest drop of the Japanese population yet, according to Japanese media. The baby bust has continued year after year despite Japanese efforts to nudge up the numbers: The government has doled out payments for couples with children and subsidized daycare. Japanese towns publicly herald the number of local births in city signs. Engineering students even crafted a cooing robotic baby years ago in hope of setting biological clocks ticking. http://www.newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/97803.php

VOCABULARY

1.      Bust - used to say that you will try very hard to go somewhere or do something

2.      Nudge - to gently persuade or encourage someone to take a particular decision or action

3.      Doled - to give something such as money, food, advice etc to more than one person

4.      Subsidized - if a government or organization subsidizes a company, activity etc, it pays part of its costs:

5.      Cooing - to make soft quiet sounds, or to speak in a soft quiet way:

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.      What is the impact of decreasing birth rate to Japan’s economy?

2.      Give reasons you know why the population in Japan is decreasing?

3.      How many children do you wish to have?

4.      Do you think it is difficult to have children?