Children on After-School Club Waiting Lists Hit Record in Japan

December 26, 2019

Tokyo- The number of elementary school children waiting to join public "gakudo hoiku" after-school care programs stood at a record high of 18,261 as of May 1, up by 982 from a year before, the welfare ministry said Wednesday.

The number of children using the after-school care totaled a record 1,299,307, reflecting growth in the number of women with jobs.

By area, the waiting list stood at 3,427 in Tokyo, 2,049 in Saitama Prefecture and 1,576 in Chiba Prefecture. The total of Tokyo and the two neighboring prefectures accounted for some 40 pct of the overall number of children on the lists nationally.

The ministry believes that the number has grown as the scope of children eligible for receiving the after-school service expanded in fiscal 2015 to include elementary school children in fourth to sixth grade, from children roughly under 10 years old.

The latest survey showed that the number of children on the lists fell by 72 for first- to third-graders, while growing by 1,054 for fourth- to sixth-graders. Jiji Press