A 32-year-old woman recently received a letter of rejection from Meguro Ward in Tokyo saying her 3-month-old son had failed to land a slot in any of the 10 municipally funded day care facilities she had applied for.
"I didn't think it would be this difficult to get my child in day care," she said.
Meguro Ward is considered one of the toughest places to get a day care slot, with some parents saying it's more difficult than entering the prestigious University of Tokyo. But the woman, who asked not to be named, didn't realize that until she started looking for a nursery.