The shortage of day care facilities is a long-standing issue in Japan, where the ranks of working mothers keep swelling, both out of choice and necessity.

The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made fixing the day care crunch a priority, pledging to boost open spots at nursery schools and to raise the wages of caregivers. But many issues remain over how to achieve this. Here's a closer look at the day care crunch and moves to fix it:

Why does Japan have a day care shortage when the number of babies is declining?