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Gov't eyes extending education subsidies to middle class in Japan

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Japan really should develop a network of publicly supported community colleges.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Just give college students free scholarships so that they won’t be burdened with student loans years after graduation. That should boost the declining birth rate.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Just more promises to insure LDP's comtinued grip on power...anyone remember all the things Abe promised?

9 ( +12 / -3 )

The proposals are expected to be further deliberated by a government task force involving Kishida and all his cabinet members to realize a new form of capitalism, a concept the prime minister advocates to push for fairer wealth distribution.

Japanese tax schemes are already regressive and onerous on the middle class.

Why not make higher education free/low cost like in the democratic socialist nations of Europe that also have high taxes?

That would move Kishida's new capitalism talk out of the empty LDP rhetoric phase.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Japan really should develop a network of publicly supported community colleges.

Unless those schools would be contrrolled by a ministry in Tokyo run by a cadre os septuagenarians many of whom are unable to use a computer. Still, it's a good suggestion, especially if students completing their community college programs could be allowed to matriculate to one of the 'prestige' state universities, from which they might have a better chance of getting a good job.

Japan, Inc. need to change and accept that just being good at taking tests to get into the prestige schools and having parents that can afford to send their kids to jukus to make it easier for them to pass tests enabling them to get into the prestige schools does not make them better workers, instead perhaps just makes them better order takers, taking grads from the prestige schools certainly seems not to have made a work force able to be very creative. Instead it's created a workforce that seems primarily able to replicate what had been done by preceding generations, much of which has been good, but probably not enough to solve many current problems Japan faces and spur economic growth.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

"Promoting a positive cycle of growth and distribution through investment in people, including education,

In reality just another subsidies and government spending.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Middle class? That’s a shrinking number. So not so expensive as far as debt goes.

4 ( +11 / -7 )

I will give this conundrum much thought on my next Premium Friday.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I know an American that has a student loan of around $120,000. Plus interest. My friend graduated in literature but couldn’t find a job. She ran away to London, married an Englishman, changed her name and has no plans to go back.

education and health should be free for all. It’s an investment in future generations.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Rather than some of the population having to pay for the education of others children?

Everybody benefits from having educated people in society - ever been to see a doctor? University educated. How do you know the building you are in won’t fall down in an earthquake? Well, the university-educated structural engineer made sure of it, etc. etc. As a tax payer, you can argue that you don’t want to pay for others education, it’s a fair opinion. But if we don’t, then fewer people will get those degrees, and if there are fewer doctors and engineers etc, what do you think happens to their salaries? You’ll end up paying more in the end - students are cheap - they don’t have families to feed and mortgages to pay for, doctors and engineers not so much. Also, the people that can afford to pay for those degrees, those from wealthy backgrounds will end up even more wealthy, just exacerbating the gap between the rich and poor.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The panel also called for extending financial support to students from households with three or more children.

I'm sure the 2 families in Tokyo with 4 children will be happy.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Educational resources and institutions at all levels from toddler groups and kindergartens up to universities , respectively printed and online books and documents at libraries or in the internet, all has to be completely free and fully accessible for everyone. Anything below of that severely and significantly hinders and breaks the society’s development and massively decreases chances of competing with other rivaling countries or economies now and even more in the future.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Kishida and other members advocated the creation of a system to allow postgraduate students needing financial assistance to defer their tuition fees until their salary reaches a certain threshold.

Kishida et al has been jetting here and there on trips to Asia and

Europe and it has been eventful in filling up his head with all types of ideas about how to ‘improve’ the system.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

How about no interest loans they can pay back when they graduate and get high paying jobs? Rather than some of the population having to pay for the education of others children?

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

The panel also called for extending financial support to students from households with three or more children

yeah………..families can barely manage one kid.

How are you going to find so many families with three or more in this day and age in Japan?

“Sneaky” way to make the prerequisites difficult to obtain.

These fools really think people are that stupid?

CUT uNecessary spendings, like free Shinkansen tickets and hotel rooms for “lawmakers.”

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

With duel income becoming the norm amongst younger generations, I don't think 6 mio JPY is enough to consider "middle class".

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The problem is the complete detachment of the blue bloods from the average Japanese person. they don't understand the problems of everyday people because they have never been everyday people. They are blue bloods born into their posts. This is the fundamental problem and it is why they can't fix the problems here. they don't understand them because they've never experienced them .

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

I eye things everyday but that does not mean I do anything.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

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