Free preschool education in Japan raises concerns

October 2, 2019

Tokyo--Tuesday's start of a Japanese government program making preschool education free of charge has raised concerns about a possible increase in the number of children waiting to be accepted into nurseries.

The program covers children aged 3 to 5 as well as those aged up to 2 from low-income families. It is "a centerpiece of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies," a government source said.

The government needs to lessen the financial burden on people hoping to have children, Abe has said, brushing aside suggestions that its first priority should be to secure more nursery workers.

Shigeki Matsuda, a Chukyo University professor and expert on family policies, said he thinks that the program will have a major positive impact. It provides timely support to child-rearing households considering having more children, he said.

The number of children on nursery waiting lists has been on a declining trend recently but remains high, standing at some 17,000 across the country as of April. It seems difficult for the government to achieve its goal of reducing the number to zero by the end of fiscal 2020.

A senior Cabinet Office official said there will be only a limited impact from the free preschool education program on demand for nursery services.

This is because the coverage of the program for children aged up to 2, who account for 90 pct of those on nursery waiting lists, is limited to low-income households exempted from paying resident taxes, the official said.

But the government's view comes under criticism. "This is an armchair plan. Administrative bodies are having no sense of danger," the head of a social welfare corporation operating nursery schools in the Tokyo area.

"It would be natural for parents to think, 'Preschool education for children aged 3 to 5 is free, so why don't we have our children enroll in schools earlier and save money?'" the

The launch of the free preschool education program is expected to make parents more aware of the quality of nursery services.

For example, school meal fees had been charged collectively with nursery fees, but each nursery school is starting to collect meal charges individually.

"Parents will become more aware about their monthly payments," a nursery teacher said, anticipating that more schools will pay more attention to the quality of meals they provide.

Nursery demand on Sundays and that for long services exceeding 12 hours a day for children aged up to one are also expected to increase.

A woman who serves as the head of a nursery school that can keep children from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. expressed concerns over children's mental and physical health.

"When the children go back home and take a bath, they will go to bed at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. Is this really good for children?" she said.

But she also observed an urgent need for support for double-income child-rearing households. She urged the government to take policies encouraging people to have years of child care leave. Jiji Press