WORLD : Motherhood: a Matter of Degree
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TOKYO — Japan’s finance minister suggested today that Japanese women are having fewer babies because more of them are going to college.
A health official said the comments came during a Cabinet discussion about a report that says Japan’s birthrate reached a record low in 1989, indicating that the country could have problems in meeting future labor force needs.
Finance Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto questioned whether all young people need higher education. Hashimoto said people could study while working.
A government report, issued last week, said the average Japanese woman had just 1.57 children as of 1989, an all-time low. The previous low was 1.58 in 1966.
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