February 8, 2023

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

A survey on the declining birthrate conducted by the Cabinet Office in FY 2020 shows that 69.7% of respondents answered that "financial support to cover or at least alleviate the burden of educational costs" is the most needed child-support measure.

To the question, "Why did you give up on having your desired family size?", the largest number (51.6%) answered "because childrearing and education cost too much."

This quinquennial survey was also conducted in France, Germany, and Sweden. Asked, "Does your country provide an environment in which you can easily have babies and bring them up?" 61.1% of those surveyed in Japan answered "No" while 38.3% said "Yes". In sharp contrast, in Sweden and France, those who gave negative answers accounted for 2.1% and 17.6%, respectively. Meanwhile, positive answers in the former and the latter accounted for 97.1% and 82.0%. The top reason cited for the positive answer in Sweden was "because there are measures to financially support and to alleviate the burden of educational expenses (84.1%)."

According to the Ministry of Education data on household expenditures on education in fiscal 2021, approximately 5.74 million yen is needed for public institutions for children aged three years old up to the age of high school graduation; 7.81 million yen for a private kindergarten, public primary and junior high schools, and a private high school; and 18.38 million yen for private institutions.

An environment where people have no worries about having enough money to pay for education is a precondition for many parents to decide if they can afford to have a child. Japan lags far behind international standards among high-income countries in terms of child-related budgets. It should dramatically increase public spending on education and child support and not on the proposed huge military buildup.