Actualization panel has proposed a new set of support measures for children and child-rearing families. A main pillar of the proposal is to create a new type of preschool facility by integrating the two existing types of preschools: yochi-en (kindergartens), which are for the education of preschoolers, and hoiku-jo (day-care facilities for children). The idea is for working parents to be able to entrust their children to the newly created school irrespective of the type of their employment — full-time or part-time work. The issue is a long-standing one that the previous Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito government could not solve.

The panel should be praised for giving the integration a concrete shape by overcoming conflicting interests. But the proposal contains some problems that must be solved to decrease the burden of child-rearing workers.

The new measures are part of the Democratic Party of Japan government's tax and social welfare reform, and represent part of its efforts to strengthen social welfare measures for younger generations. Some ¥1 trillion will be spent for these measures annually, with ¥700 billion coming from the additional tax revenues to be realized through a consumption tax increase. The government plans to raise the tax rate from the current 5 percent to 8 percent in April 2014 and to 10 percent in October 2015. The measures will be gradually introduced from fiscal 2013.