Abstract
Various reforms of social security systems are aimed at improving the current declining birthrate and aging population. In particular, measures to combat the declining birthrate are focused on creating an environment for increasing the number of births. The total fertility rate in Europe is higher than in Japan, and in the case of France in particular, it is the closest to 2.1, the level at which a population decline is not expected to occur. While various fertility reduction measures are considered to be more effective than in Japan, family allowances, which provide direct financial support for child rearing, differ significantly from those in Japan. This paper compares European family allowances with Japanese social allowances and other financial support systems for child rearing, and discusses how these systems can contribute to the policy of reducing the declining birthrate and aging population.
