The government paid child allowances for April and May to foreign residents for 7,746 children living outside Japan, an amount coming to about ¥1 billion in public money for the fiscal year, the Liberal Democratic Party said Wednesday.

The law allows such payments — ¥13,000 per child aged 15 or younger — to foreign residents who have children outside Japan, as long as the parent-child relationship is recognized. However, in reality, it may not always be easy to confirm the relation, which critics point out could open the door to false claims.

The LDP based its estimate on a survey it conducted at the local-government level in May.