Tag - children

 
 

CHILDREN

According to the children's agency’s estimate, those with an annual income of ¥2 million will see an additional tax levy of ¥350 to support new child care provision, while those with incomes of ¥6 million will pay an extra ¥1,000.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2024
Japan to collect monthly average of ¥800 for child care boost
The exact amount for each individual will vary depending on income and public health insurance plans.
Afghan children in the earthquake-hit district of Zinda Jan, in Herat, Afghanistan, in October 2023.
WORLD / Society
Apr 10, 2024
Afghan kids study without school buildings six months after major quake
The October earthquake killed more than 1,500 people and damaged or destroyed more than 63,000 homes, according to an assessment.
In fiscal 2022, the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan fielded 4,024 inquiries concerning online game microtransactions made by students of elementary, junior high and high schools without the knowledge of their parents.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 9, 2024
Watch out for microtransactions in kids' online games, parents urged
Watchdog reports surge in complaints of children racking up unauthorized charges on smartphones using their parents' payment credentials.
This year's survey, conducted from May 2023 to February 2024 and released last week, amassed responses from 4,000 children (2,000 boys and 2,000 girls) starting elementary school in April, along with 4,000 parents.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 8, 2024
Cake shop worker remains dream job for many children starting school
"Police officer" and "athlete" were the second and third most popular choices, according to annual survey by a school bag material manufacturer.
Recent research suggests that within developed countries, the old positive relationship between status and fertility is re-emerging.
COMMENTARY
Apr 3, 2024
The wealthy are starting to have more babies than the poor again
After a century during which higher income and status meant fewer children, the current trend is potentially a momentous change.
Ayuko Kato, minister for policies related to children, speaks at a parliament session on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2024
One year on, Japan's children agency struggles to show leadership
The agency is facing challenges to demonstrate leadership, unable to move forward with unprecedented measures to combat the declining birthrate.
The Justice Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 1, 2024
Japan puts new legitimacy presumption rules into effect
The new Civil Code will allow mothers and children to be able to file for a denial of legitimacy.
Japan will charge members of medical insurance programs with fees starting in fiscal 2026 to tackle the country's sluggish birthrate.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2024
Fight against low birthrate to cost ¥450 monthly per head
The government plans to boost annual spending on measures to fight the sluggish birthrate to ¥3.6 trillion by fiscal 2028.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi shakes hands at the parliamentary building following the enactment of the fiscal 2024 budget on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 29, 2024
Japan enacts ¥112.6 trillion budget for fiscal 2024
The budget includes a record ¥7.95 trillion in defense spending.
Child consultation center workers and police officers hold a joint training session in Chiba Prefecture last November.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2024
Record high 122,806 suspected child abuse cases logged by police in 2023
A record 2,385 criminal investigations into child abuse cases were conducted by police in the year, up 9.4% from 2022, according to police agency data.
Participants take part in a matchmaking event organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government at Jindai Botanical Gardens on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 23, 2024
Tokyo, Tokyo, make me a match! Metropolis hopes AI app will spur marriages
The app will ask matrimonial hopefuls more than 100 questions as the capital seeks to curb declining numbers of marriages and births.
Denys Kostev, a Ukrainian teen who lived in an orphanage in southern Ukraine and ended up in Russian-controlled territory following Moscow's full-scale invasion
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2024
Poster child for Russia's removal of Ukraine orphans says he was coached, threatened
Kyiv says many Ukrainian orphans taken to Russian-controlled territory have been subjected to an orchestrated program to make them accept Kremlin ideology.
Children and teachers walk past an electronic screen displaying Japan's Nikkei share average outside a brokerage in Tokyo on March 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 19, 2024
Japan OKs bill on background checks for work involving children
Once the bill becomes a law, employers will be able to screen prospective employees for past history of sex offenses via the Children and Families Agency.
A Palestinian child waits to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. The United Nation's children's agency said on Sunday that many children in Gaza are suffering from severe malnutrition.
WORLD
Mar 18, 2024
UNICEF says over 13,000 children killed in Gaza in Israel offensive
Israel's military assault on Gaza has displaced nearly its entire 2.3 million-person population, caused a starvation crisis, and killed over 31,000 people.
A total of 404 students, including 125 elementary school pupils, were either criminally investigated or placed in protective custody last year.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Japan school bullying cases leading to police probes hit 10-year high
Of the 292 cases, assault was the most common with 102, followed by 60 involving bodily harm and 46 involving suspected sex crimes.
The number of elementary school children who became victims of crimes through social media totaled a record 139 last year in Japan, National Police Agency data showed Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
Child victims of social media-related crimes on the rise in Japan
The number of victims has grown fivefold in the past decade.
Shi Pong Hsu, 75, makes coffee in a Singapore coffee shop. The city-state's government projects that almost a quarter of its population will be 65 or over by 2030.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2024
Singapore is bracing for a super-aging society
Japan and South Korea may be the poster children for low birthrates, but Singapore is confronting its own decline. Its solution? Bonuses for nurses.
Women and babies at the Zamzam displacement camp, close to El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, in January.
WORLD / Society
Mar 9, 2024
Millions of Sudanese go hungry as war disrupts food supply
The number of Sudanese facing emergency levels of hunger — one stage before famine — has more than tripled in a year to almost 5 million.
A Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2024
Government OKs bill to introduce joint custody after divorce
The bill would permit either sole custody or joint custody. A family court will intervene if there is a dispute.
Beyond factors such as the "motherhood penalty," Japanese women struggle to advance in their careers due to the structure of the workforce, including the two-tiered clerical versus managerial track.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2024
Why is it taking so long to break the glass ceiling?
Japan isn't unique in having a thick glass ceiling, but some factors don't apply to other countries, like the U.S., where many more managers are women.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces