Search - child-care-in-japan

 
 
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2023

Don’t forget the conservative core that churns in Japan

The outside world should not be beguiled or misled by exaggerated claims about a “new Japan.”
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 21, 2023

With renewed push, Kishida looks to put his own stamp on Japan's Indo-Pacific strategy

Kishida's newly unveiled plan to assist developing nations was widely seen as a bid to counter Beijing’s attempts to expand its influence among those countries.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a government meeting on child policies on Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2023

Japan to boost spending on measures to tackle low birthrate

The government will make official a program that will have nursery schools accept children even if both parents do not work, among other measures.
The government plans to make it mandatory for staff candidates at children's facilities, including those for children with disabilities, to submit a certificate of no sex crime record.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2023

Japan considers mandatory sex crime record checks by schools

The government plans to include the requirements in a bill it expects to submit to parliament as early as this fall.
Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of policies related to children, speaks during a Lower House budget committee session on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 28, 2024

Japan outlines bill for sex crime record checks by schools

Sex crime records would be checked for people applying to work and also for those who are already working.
With the envisioned free university tuition program for families with three or more children, the government hopes to step up its financial assistance to households struggling with education costs.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 7, 2023

Japan plans to make university tuition free for large families

The program will cover households with three or more children from fiscal 2025.
Save the Children Japan in May 2022 began its Hello! Baby Box initiative to provide essential items for newborns, with the aim of reducing the burden of child care costs for women in dire situations.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2025

Most expecting and new mothers in poverty lack funds for basic necessities: survey

State support is often diverted to cover essential day-to-day costs and consumables needed for child-rearing, a survey found.
The Tokyo District Court has found Nagumi Osada, 27, guilty of sexually abusing seven girls between the ages of 3 and 6.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2024

Former day care center worker given 14-year term for child sex abuse

The man was found guilty of abusing seven girls between the ages of 3 and 6 at day care centers where he worked and of filming the acts over a period of two years.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

Kishida seeks steps to protect children from sexual abuse

"The environment surrounding the safety and security of children has been threatened. The government needs to act quickly," the prime minister said.
Legislation was enacted Friday to offer more support to workers raising young children.
JAPAN
May 24, 2024

Japan passes law on flexible work for parents with young children

Firms will be obliged to allow employees with preschoolers age 3 and older to choose from at least two working options, such as remote work or shorter hours.
The day care room for younger children at a multipurpose facility on Tonaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, has never been used since its establishment in 2019.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Feb 3, 2025

The harsh reality of migration outflow on Okinawa’s least populated island

Since Tonaki Island established its only day care center in 2019, not a single child has set foot inside.
Ayaka Saito works on a lathe to make a part for a ship at Ena Seisakusho in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture. Saito, who has a 1-year-old child, takes comfort in the fact that her employer allows time off for workers for parenting duties.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jul 8, 2024

Special skills allow Fukushima mother to shine in full-time job

Her employer also lets her take time off to care for her child, a rare policy seen as pivotal in getting more women back to the workforce.
Participants in a "cross-mentoring" training session held by sports club operator Renaissance share their concerns with female executives from other companies who serve as role models.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 16, 2024

Japan intensifies efforts to address gender pay gaps

According to the labor ministry, the average monthly wage for full-time female workers last year was ¥262,600, about 75% of the ¥350,900 earned by men.
Children make handicrafts on Jan. 15 at a local community center on the island of Notojima, part of the city of Nanao in Ishikawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2024

Mental care needed for quake-affected children in central Japan

"When I'm at home, I end up playing games alone all the time."
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Oct 6, 2023

Cram school teacher arrests ignite child safety debate

Two cram school teachers in Tokyo were arrested for allegedly taking photos of a female student's underwear and sharing them on a group chat.
Junko Yagi, a professor at Iwate Medical University, speaks during an interview on Jan. 10 in the town of Yahaba, Iwate Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025

Experts urge ongoing mental health care for families in 3/11 disaster areas

"Parents and children alike are carrying heavy emotional burdens," one expert said.
A bill would have banned the act of letting children play in a park or travel to school on their own, as well as parents going out and leaving their high school-age children behind to take care of younger siblings.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 10, 2023

Saitama to withdraw proposed ban on leaving children unattended

The bill had been criticized by many parents in the prefecture and beyond as being too restrictive and impossible to follow.
"The Ones Left Behind" documents the successes and struggles of single mothers in Japan.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2023

Why single mothers in Japan have been left behind

Filmmaker Rionne McAvoy joins us to discuss the hidden poverty present in one of the world’s richest nations.
The government plans to establish a system that allows any child to enroll in day care establishments regardless of whether their parents work or not.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2024

Japan's Cabinet OKs bill on measures to tackle falling birthrate

The bill includes plans to expand child benefits and establish a system allowing any child to enroll in day care establishments.
Sony employees simulate the physical sensations of pregnancy at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo in February. The simple power of numbers can begin to remake workplace cultures, but many Japanese women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.
JAPAN / Society
May 8, 2024

It took decades, but Japan’s working women are making progress

Employers have taken steps to change a male-dominated workplace culture. But women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 25, 2023

Japan to open nursery places to all children by fiscal 2025

At the moment, typically only children from families where both the parents are working are admitted to day care.
Tomomi Bitoh, 33, Japan's top ultrarunner, stretches as she takes part in a workout session around the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 6, 2024

As Japan's birth rate drops, runner freezes her eggs to sustain motherhood dream

Last year Tokyo authorities started offering subsidies of up to ¥300,000 ($1,900) for women aged between 18 and 39 to have their eggs frozen for future pregnancies.
Paternity leave has not taken root in Japan due to concerns over decreases in income and disruptions to the work side of life.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 24, 2023

Japan local governments working to encourage paternity leave

From Saga to Yamanashi, local officials are trying a variety of policies to give their male employees a chance to better participate in family life.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2023

Planned sex-offense barring system drafted for child-related jobs

The Children and Families Agency plans to submit a bill to establish the system during this autumn's extraordinary Diet session.
Legislation on measures to support child-rearing passes during the Upper House plenary session on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 5, 2024

Japan enacts bill to expand measures for tackling low birth rate

To pay for the changes, extra fees will be added to public medical insurance premiums.
To qualify for the advance payment offered by the city of Saitama, the single parent must reside in the city and fulfill several other criteria.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 6, 2024

Saitama aids single parents with advance child support payments

The city will offer a maximum amount of ¥50,000 per month per child to the affected parent for up to three months, and seek reimbursement from the former spouse.
A child welfare center in Naha in May 1966
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Apr 14, 2025

In Okinawa, war trauma carried by orphans still lingers

“War orphans were pushed to the margins of society after the war," says one academic.
Pham Thi Bich Hau (fifth from left) began translating and interpreting for the Vietnamese community in Japan in 2013, when she was working for a trainee management organization. She went on to found the Vietnam Women's Union in Japan, organizing activities like the Tet festival pictured here.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Jul 21, 2025

The mothers holding up Japan's Vietnamese community

Online support groups and in-person events are helping Vietnamese women from all walks of life manage motherhood abroad.
The child care program under discussion is aimed at addressing the issue of isolation of parents raising young children and fostering their growth through interactions with other kids.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2024

Japan discussing details of day care for all infants

Under the program, set to launch by fiscal 2025, day care services will be available for all children aged 6 months to 2 years.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’