Japan Press Weekly

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2013 October 9 - 15 [WELFARE]

LDP, DPJ and Komei in Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly cast ‘no’ votes for more childcare centers while parents watch

The welfare committee of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on October 9 dismissed a bill to subsidize the construction of certified daycare facilities for children. The bill was proposed by the Japanese Communist Party.

While 20 parents with their children were observing the session in the public seating gallery, the Liberal Democratic, Komei, Democratic, and Your parties cast votes opposing the bill.

One of the observers, a 42-year old man who will become a father in December said, “We parents want to have our children enter certified daycare centers with a playground so that they can play safely outdoors.”

A mother with her one-year-old daughter who applied for a certified daycare facility which opened in July, said that 63 children are also on the list to enroll in the same facility which accepts only eight babies under the age of one. Even if both a mother and a father are working full-time, they are unable to get their child into a certified daycare center, she pointed out.

As of April 1 this year, the number of children on waiting lists for childcare centers in Tokyo is 21,360, up by 1,500 from the previous year.

The major obstacle in building childcare facilities in Tokyo is the difficulty in securing land. If such a facility is built on private leased land, the landlord could demand eviction at any time.

The JCP bill aims to provide public financial support for the land purchase of childcare center operators so that they can purchase a piece of land large enough to construct a building with a playground. The bill received favorable responses from the operators. The bill requires five billion yen, which is certainly affordable for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government with its total budget of six trillion yen.