Japan Press Weekly

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2016 March 9 - 15 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Build more public facilities and raise care workers’ wages to achieve ‘zero’ waiting list to enter childcare centers

Triggered by a blog posted by an angry mother who experienced the rejection of her applications for licensed childcare centers while her return to work from childcare leave is approaching, the issue of children waiting to enter childcare facilities has again attracted public attention.

Successive national governments have shifted their financial responsibility for childcare services to local governments, which has led to the closure and privatization of public daycare facilities for children. The number of public/authorized childcare centers decreased to 9,791 in 2014 from 12,875 in 1999. As of the end of FY 2015, the number of children put on waiting lists for admission to authorized daycare centers reached 23,167.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has claimed that he will provide childcare services to 400,000 children. In response to a question made by Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Kira Yoshiko, the PM on March 11 said that he will “definitely achieve a goal of zero children waiting to enter childcare centers” and promised to take necessary measures to reduce the number of children on waiting lists as soon as possible.

What PM Abe seeks is to accomplish the goal through policies that will allow the operation of daycare facilities without qualified care workers, expand the entry of for-profit companies into childcare services, and increase the number of unauthorized care facilities. However, what parents are calling for is to build more public and licensed nursery centers.

Meanwhile, in order to promote the construction of more authorized daycare facilities, it is essential to solve the issue of labor shortages in the childcare sector.

At present, many childcare facilities are struggling with staff shortages, and on the other hand, the number of qualified care workers who walked away from their jobs has reached 760,000. The low pay of childcare workers is one of major causes for this situation. The average monthly wage for childcare workers is 216,000 yen, 110,000 yen lower than the average of all workers.

The Abe government is trying to confront the workforce shortage problem by further deregulation of childcare services, such as the use of unqualified workers at care facilities, and not by measures to provide higher wages to childcare workers.

The Japanese Communist Party has insisted on the need for a change in political direction in order to solve the issue of children on waiting lists with the construction of more public daycare centers and the improvement of childcare workers’ working conditions.

Past related articles:
> Deregulation of childcare licenses will affect children and careworkers [June 2, 2014]
> Abe wants more for-profit childcare services as in Yokohama [May 22, 2013]