May 11, 2022

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Miyamoto Toru on May 10 demanded that the current national standards for group sizes in childcare centers be revised in order to reduce the number of children assigned to one childcare worker.

At a Lower House meeting jointly held by the Labor and Welfare Committee and the Internal Affairs Committee on the day, Miyamoto pointed out that in Britain, one childcare worker looks after eight children aged 4 and 5 under national standards while in Japan, one worker takes care of 30 children of that age.

Miyamoto pointed out that Japan’s standards have not been changed since they were established soon after the war. He continued to point out that the Labor Ministry’s data clearly indicates that under the current standards, childcare workers are too busy to even take a rest break. He urged the government to revise the existing standards without delay and increase the number of childcare workers in nurseries.

Labor and Welfare Minister Goto Shigeyuki in reply said that to ensure a work environment in which childcare workers can take enough rest breaks is important from the viewpoint of improving quality of childcare.