September 13, 2018

The Japanese Communist Party Tokyo Metropolitan Assemblymembers’ Group on September 12 announced two ordinance bills to subsidize the installment of air conditioners in school gyms and to provide expectant mothers with coupons for public transport.

In public elementary and junior high schools in Tokyo, almost all classrooms are equipped with air conditioners because the metropolitan government has a subsidy program to support their installation. On the other hand, only 8.4% of gyms are air-conditioned as of 2017. If the JCP’s ordinance bill is passed, the metropolitan government will pay half the cost necessary to install A/C systems in school gyms.

JCP member of the metropolitan assembly Yonekura Haruna at a press conference said that this summer’s heatwave was so intense and even life-threatening that many Tokyo schools had to cancel PE classes and club activities in gyms. She hoped that the proposed subsidy program will help to have air conditioners installed as soon as possible.

The other bill is aimed at helping municipal governments provide expectant mothers with transit coupons worth 5,500 yen. The metropolitan government will shoulder all the cost of this measure.

Explaining the objectives of the bill, JCP assemblymember Izumi Naomi said, “It will give people a message that every child’s birth deserves to be celebrated by the society and that local governments are willing to help.”

The JCP will submit the two bills to the assembly in the regular session scheduled to be convened next week.

Past related articles:
> Nearly 10K people taken to hospital due to heatstroke within one week [July 22 & 23, 2018]
> Shinfujin urges Education Ministry to increase subsidies for more air-conditioned classrooms [July 20, 2018]