“Now or never when it comes to policies regarding births and child-rearing-it is an issue that simply cannot wait any longer,” Prime Minister Kishida said in a speech marking the new parliamentary session. “The number of births dropped below 800,000 last year.”

“Japan is standing on the verge of whether we can continue to function as a society,” he added.

For perspective, Japan experienced nearly 2 million births per year throughout the 1970s.

Although the Asian island nation has a population of roughly 125 million, its demographic pyramid is rapidly greying. Only Monaco, the city-state on the French Riviera, has a higher proportion of residents 65 and older.