The Japanese government has approved a set of measures to tackle the declining birthrate by expanding financial support for people raising children.

The measures approved on Friday will start to be implemented over the next three years. The government says the issue should be addressed by the 2030s, when the younger demographic will start to shrink.

The limit on household income for receiving childrearing allowances will be removed from December next year, and coverage will be expanded to children up to the age of 18.

For the third child onward, the monthly allowances will be raised to 30,000 yen, or about 205 dollars.

Households with three or more children will be eligible for a waiver of university tuition fees.

The annual income limit for single-parent households to receive the full amount of allowances will be raised to about 13,000 dollars.

The measures also include opening childcare centers that will accept children regardless of whether their parents are working or not.

Benefits for people who take childcare leave will be raised so that even if both parents take leave, their disposable income will not change for up to four weeks.

The government says it will increase the budget to finance the measures by about 25 billion dollars per year over the next three years.

It aims to secure stable funding by fiscal 2028 by issuing government bonds and cutting social security spending. A framework will also be created to collect funds from individuals and businesses through public medical insurance programs.