An MP from Japan’s governing party has drawn accusations of sexism after he said women should have multiple children and warned those who preferred to remain single that they would become a burden on the state later in life.
Kanji Kato, a member of prime minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic party, told a party faction meeting that when he is asked to give speeches at wedding receptions, he encourages the bride and groom to produce “at least three children”.
When he encounters young women who say they do not intend to marry, Kato, who has six children and eight grandchildren, said: “I tell them that if they don’t get married then they won’t be able to have children, and that they’ll end up in a care home paid for with the taxes of other people’s children.”
His comments, reported by TBS News, come days after official data showed the number of children in Japan fell to its lowest on record. As of 1 April 2018 there were 15.53 million children aged under 15, a fall of 170,000 from the previous year, according to the internal affairs ministry.
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