Japan Press Weekly

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2016 July 20 - 26 [POLITICS]

Defense minister-turned Tokyo governor candidate calls for packing more children into childcare facilities

Former Defense Minister Koike Yuriko, who is running in the Tokyo gubernatorial race, declared her intent to solve the issue of children waiting to enter authorized childcare centers through enacting measures that will allow the packing of more children into the existing facilities.

At the end of April, 8,466 children in Tokyo are on waiting lists for admission to authorized day nurseries, according to the Tokyo government. However, it did not count the number of children whose mothers had to delay returning to work due to the rejection of their children’s applications for authorized daycare centers. The metropolitan government also excludes from the count the number of children who entered day nurseries under the Tokyo license. If these children are included, the actual number of children on the waiting lists exceeds 20,000.

In 2003, the Tokyo government led by Governor Ishihara Shintaro introduced a system licensing private childcare facilities based on Tokyo’s own standards which are lower than the national standards. It has turned its back on its responsibility to build a sufficient number of facilities which meet the national standards. Former Tokyo Governor Masuzoe Yoichi was also unwilling to increase the budget for constructing childcare centers and increasing the number of childcare workers while annually spending 220 billion yen in tax money for unneeded road construction and other large-scale development projects.

In the Tokyo gubernatorial election campaign, Koike Yuriko promised that in order to achieve a “zero” waiting list to enter childcare centers, she will deregulate the national minimum standards for childcare centers, including the size of facilities, so that the existing care facilities can accept more children.

Koike’s policy is just a copy from the Abe government’s policy on the issue of waiting lists. The Abe government intends to cram the existing nurseries with more children to eliminate the waiting lists. It plans to increase the fixed number of children for small-size childcare facilities and lower the minimum standards for the size of childcare centers, which will endanger children’s lives.

Past related articles:
> JCP Ikeuchi demands drastic revision of gov’t plan to pack children in facilities to eliminate waiting lists [April 2, 2016]
> Welfare Ministry intends to make childcare centers accept children beyond their capacity [March 29, 2016]