Gov't to create database aimed at preventing child poverty

So many empty promises but it has done so little about welfare in a country where corporations and inequalities are the de facto a reality.

A database is only good when there are qualified people behind the scenes taking action! In my opinion, it will just be used to make more excuses!

CCP stuff monitoring. I'm sure it'll get used for other purposes other than welfare.

How about starting a round table with the NPOs who are actually working this on the street and start enacting emergency safety nets without the stigma? Geez....

The problem is people who cannot afford to have children HAVING children. If you don{t have a stable home, income and lifestyle, Why are you having kids?

The problem is people who cannot afford to have children HAVING children. If you don{t have a stable home, income and lifestyle, Why are you having kids?

Because it's a human right.

Unless you live in China.

I know there are going to be a lot of negative comments about this database plan but as an U.S. Citizen let me tell you what I think about it.

Japan actually gives a damn about poor children enough for this to even be on their radar. It may work and it may not work but caring enough to try something. That to me is freaking amazing

With all due respect, @DrTOM1957 9:03am, you are not here to see these children in person. Like many things here, this is another government ‘show’. Apathy is abundant within those that make it to the higher levels of income and government.

*- @DrTOM1957 9:03am: “…but as an U.S. Citizen let me tell you what I think… Japan actually gives a damn about poor children enough for this to even be on their radar.” -*

Well understood why the U.S. and France are at 21.2%, when you take inn thousands of desperate and hungry migrants weekly the poverty rate will rise but for a NOBEL cause.

so over decades until now they've never had a database to track these problems?

Or they could, you know, just support parents in upbringing children.

They could allow tax breaks, open up more day care centers, punish companies for not allowing maternal and paternal leave, assisted payments in school supplies and housing, etc etc.

Then maybe more people would want to have children, seeing as there’s a “population” crisis?

or how about cutting law maker salaries across the board? They aren’t doing anything useful anyway……

no no no. That would require logic again. That stuff doesn’t exist around here. Never mind.

keep doing what you’ve done for decades. Nothing.

It's a bit odd that a country with a declining birth rate and negative population growth would have a child poverty problem.

The problem might be better defined as parent poverty.

Stop having kids if you can't afford them, that's what causes child poverty. As the old saying goes: "Don't have the dough, don't cream the pie"

Poverty is generally due to bad luck and the circumstances in which you were born in; wealth is due to the same just in reverse. If Japan wants to tackle child poverty then the government should raise the minimum wage to 2,000 yen an hour. That would surely help single parents who can only work at convenience stores a few hours a day.

The Japanese government has decided to create a database to store various information about children, such as family economic conditions and academic abilities, in an attempt to prevent child poverty and abuse

Maybe create a database of abusers first / also

This sounds like possibly a good thing but the article conveniently sidestepped the facts of the extremely high child abuse rates and domestic violence compared to the relatively high poverty rates of children in Japan.

Lets hope its more about providing assistance than just a way to collect personal data and information of our younger generation for control purposes.

I'm surprised the reaction to this is relatively placid, given that the government plans to

'store various information about children, such as family economic conditions and academic abilities, in an attempt to prevent child poverty and abuse'

I'm highly skeptical about any government's real intentions when there's a plan to 'collect and store information about people'... even more so when it relates to children.

How long is the data collected for? Who has access to it? Will it be deleted at age 21, or is it assigned to children for life? Will it be added to a child's MyNumber card? Will 'academic abilities' suddenly be used as a metric when applying for a house loan?

It seems to me it would just be another tool to use to profile and discriminate against people.

Oh, and let's not just pass over the statement:

...in an attempt to prevent child poverty and abuse

These two things are vastly different, and not necessarily connected at all.

If a family is in a bad economic situation and a child is performing below average academically, it doesn't mean the child is being abused. It shouldn't mean that the government is able to investigate parents over whether they are abusing their child.

Where is the metric that might suggest that a child with good academic ability from a well off family might be being abused?

another way how to waste money for useless things.

to reduce poverty gov should support families with kids say 30000JPy per kid a month...this may have better impact than these so called studies...

Japan needs better food security which is at a record low.

This has been a problem since like generations ago! If you are just realizing it now, you really have been living with your head in the sand.

Japan HAS to import food to feed the people. Domestically produced food is FAR too expensive!

This has nothing to do with the problem written in the article!

If a family is in a bad economic situation and a child is performing below average academically, it doesn't mean the child is being abused. It shouldn't mean that the government is able to investigate parents over whether they are abusing their child.

Kids from wealthy families get abused too. This is another BS attempt at making it look like something is being done!

The data that will be put in the database are information that are already being collected by welfare and education sections of municipal governments.

They will just be integrated into one database

I doubt that a new database can do something against child poverty. That much money spent to the IT cronies even widens the gap more. Well, you could say, that a few of the highly paid developers have children and therefore it prevents from poverty. It’s not completely wrong. lol

Japan imports American short grain rice but does not sell it for human consumption. Kept in silos for two years and then sold for animal feed.

Rice for humans fed to animals.

No problems I guess.

How about medicine for animals used on humans?

strangerland...

Because it's a human right.

And bringing up kids in a state of poverty and neglect is against their human rights.

Japan imports American short grain rice but does not sell it for human consumption. Kept in silos for two years and then sold for animal feed.

Some of it is, most used for sake and beer production and things like sembei.