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JIJI

A group of parents in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, are taking legal action against the municipal government after a decision to strip nursery access from parents who take postnatal leave to care for a newborn. The plaintiffs, 11 people from eight families, claim in a petition filed with the Saitama District Court on Thursday that the ruling is illegal and want the court to invalidate the dismissal of their children from municipally funded nurseries under the system. Previously, Tokorozawa had allowed children to continue attending nurseries at the discretion of the head of each facility, even if their parents took time off from work to take care of a newborn baby. But in line with the central government's introduction in April of a new child care support system to help cut nursery waiting lists, the city adopted a new rule, forcing parents of children aged up to 2 to remove them from their nurseries if they take fresh postnatal leave. The Tokorozawa government introduced its new rule based on a decision that parents on child care leave for babies can also take care of their older children at the same time. The city believes the move will create room for other children to use nurseries, thereby reducing waiting lists. In the lawsuit, however, the plaintiffs claim that attending nursery is part of their children's routines and that changes in their living environment could have serious adverse effects on their personality development. In addition, they argue that the city is misinterpreting the guidelines for the implementation of the new child care support system. Kazuyoshi Hara, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, criticized the city. "It could make parents hesitant to have second and later children and eventually help cause the number of children to decrease further."