Japan Press Weekly

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2013 September 11 - 17 [TOKYO]

JCP to submit ordinance bill for more authorized childcare centers

The Japanese Communist Party in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on September 11 announced that it will submit to the assembly session that will begin in seven days an ordinance bill for constructing more authorized childcare centers in Tokyo.

This is the first proposal of a bill by the JCP after the party regained the qualification for the right to submit bills as a result of its successful increase in its seats from 8 to 17 in the quadrennial metropolitan assembly election in June.

The JCP’s bill proposes that the Tokyo government provide subsidies to local governments and social welfare corporations in Tokyo to purchase land for a new authorized childcare facility or an annex to the existing facility. The amount of the subsidy the party suggests is to cover half of the municipality’s purchasing cost and three-quarters of corporation’s cost and up to one billion yen per location.

The JCP assembly members’ group estimates that the amount needed to finance this measure for four years totals 20 billion yen and that 8,000 more children will then be able to go to authorized daycare centers.

JCP group spokesperson Oyama Tomoko at a press conference reported that on the previous day the party requested other political parties to join the submission of the bill. “As the governor as well as other political parties in the past assembly sessions mentioned the need to build more authorized childcare centers, I believe other parties will agree with our request. The JCP will do its utmost to achieve the passage of the bill,” said Oyama.