Tokyo to make child care free for all 2nd children from October

Make it for ALL, not just 2nd child!

The measure will be applicable for those aged zero to two years without setting conditions, such as being within a certain household income bracket, as the local government aims to provide an incentive for families to have more than one child.

So a Not-Universal Basic Income for only those families with the wherewithal to have one child in the first place?

Funded partly by Taro-kun scraping by in his single room rental?

Pure regressive taxation in action, par for the course with the LDP.

This seems like a move that could actually push people towards having a second child, unlike the one-time only 5000 yen payment.

Good luck in having and rising 2nd child or more with Japanese rigid paternity leave.

It seems that the government wants people with kids to stay in Tokyo then?

Seems like an opposite incentive to the 1 million bonus to leave Tokyo

They keep tweaking things to make it better, but I think it's too late.

sakurasukiToday  07:25 am JST

Good luck in having and rising 2nd child or more with Japanese rigid paternity leave.

Japan has one of the most generous paternity leave in the world. People just don’t use it as they should for a number of odd reasons.

2nd child is already 1/2 price (until 3), but it can get very expensive depending on income. So this will help bring the monthly cost down.

Great..... I now have to pay even more tax for other peoples children.

Yeah, with taxes you actually pay for things that aren't for you sometimes. Are you just figuring out how society works? This isn't exactly a new revelation in the world....

@weiwei

has one of the most generous paternity leave in the world. People just don’t use it as they should for a number of odd reasons.

Changing at least in large companies . I used to work in one of the 3 Japanese mega banks and somebody took 7 months. Of course some people were a bit shocked but he did it. If you are strong enough you can.

Good, now this is a good step in the right direction. Congrats.

This really shouldn't need saying, but the best person to look after a baby is it's mother or father. The state should help families who do this, not just people who get others to do it. What should be funded is paternity/maternity leave or preferably UBI for parents of babies/toddlers. UBI is better than paternity/maternity leave because it is job independent.

In terms of general happiness and baby welfare, children should not go into childcare until they are two or three and need social contact with other kids. Yes I know many jobs do not offer leave and force parents of babies back to work. Other parents do it because they can't be bothered to look after their kids or don't see below their career as a priority. However, parents of babies (i.e., under twos) doing this should not be celebrated, encouraged, or extensively subsidized if stay at home parents are getting nothing.

Most developed nations have had free childcare and maternity for decades. Why is it so hard for Japan!?

Childcare in the UK or the USA is way way more expensive than childcare in Japan. In the UK, 1000 GBP a month (yes 160,000 yen) is typical.

no reason to create new tax payers to support Kishida military expansion.

Does the second twin still count as one since born at the same time?

Wow! That's good move, Tokyo.

If second twin, does he/she count as a second child or as a first set?

*You can get 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year (during school term time)**. You may be able to get free childcare for 52 weeks if you use fewer than 30 hours per week. *

Talk about not understanding the issue. The above is for children in the UK who are THREE and FOUR. Childcare for three and four year olds is cheap because they go into classes of fifteen kids with one teacher. The same thing happens in Japan. Most parents in regular hoikuen (from nensho (3-4) in Japan pay 30,000 yen a month for full time care. Its not a big drain on family resources.

The article is about Tokyo giving free childcare to babies.

The measure will be applicable for those aged zero to two years without setting conditions,

Childcare for babies and toddlers (= not three and four year olds) is massively expensive. The staffing ratio is far higher. For babies, it is something like one carer to two kids. In the UK, the average cost is 1000 quid a month, so the 30,000 to 80,000 yen people pay for better care in Japan is a steal. It is far cheaper.

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/becoming-a-parent/childcare-costs

If its going to be free in Tokyo "without setting conditions", that is massively expensive to the taxpayer. Note that over 80% of the waiting lists for "childcare" are for under 3s. Local authorities do not provide places for everyone in public care centers because of the massive cost of running them. To state my point again, if you raise your own baby, you save the taxpayer 150,000 yen a month. The reward for this is bonding with the child, a more contented baby, and no guilt from leaving the child with other people. The state will give you nothing as a reward or thanks. By not working and staying at home with the air con on, it will cost you money.

Japan has one of the most generous paternity leave in the world.

Only on paper; just as it was meant to be. The triumph of image over reality.

How about a refund?

I paid for my 2, how about giving me my money back on my second child's day care?

You want more children simple let more foreign women in.

Nearly all the non Japanese women I know in Japan have more than 2 children most 3 or 4 and they are all married to Japanese men.

But offering this type of thing will not do anything

There are always those who complain about not benefiting from something others will.

Part of my taxes helps educate children in schools and universities even though I have no children here. There are many more examples.

yeah.............

how are you getting to the "2nd child" when you can't even get people to have a "1st child?"

Who keeps coming up with this garbage?

Tokyo to make

I'm confused.

Are they trying to get people to LEAVE Tokyo (with their ¥1M move incentive) or are they trying to KEEP people in Tokyo (with this 2nd baby move?)

Or do they just like to make contradictions to seem like they are doing anything at work all day?

Very hard to understand the "logic" here.

I wish my country would do that with OUR money. Instead, we send $100 billion* dollars to Ukraine.

Going by figures from a Warton Business School study, we just sent enough of OUR money to Ukraine that could have otherwise paid to provide EVERY 3 and 4 year old in the US through universal preschool for THREE YEARS.

It’s a tired clichè, but let THAT one sink in…

*cumulative figures, when all current commitments have been met

Let's encourage people who don't have enough money to bring up children to have more of them. Then expect those of us paying tax to pay for them. Don't get a pets, cars or have children if you can't afford to take care of them.

Free just means that someone ELSE is paying for it, whatever it is. Robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Now all those empty childcare facilities will finally get used . . .

Next will be a substantial allowance for each kid if there are 3 or more

Does the second twin still count as one since born at the same time?

You've seen two babies born at the same time?

That's incredible

Total fertility rate in Tokyo in 2021 : 1.08

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1233526/japan-total-fertility-rate-by-prefecture/

It means it wil cost hardly anything to Tokyo gov. This will not lead to couples saying hey we can have one more !

Japanese don't want children in the capital, they come for high salaries to get high life.

If you want to have children, better go to okinawa for a better life.

Japan’s population is falling but that doesn’t mean we need more babies. There are plenty of other ways to deal with the problem of paying and caring for the massive elderly population. And in 20 years when everyone receives UBI won’t more babies now just mean greater payouts and liabilities in the future? The perceived benefits of more children may turn into a massive burden down the road.

It seems to me that shifts in social welfare policy should be voted upon by the public. These decisions impact everyone and citizens should all have a say.

Money is definitely not the issue. Only 10-20% of families even care about wages due to their massive assets amounts. Maybe they should look at the massive increase in oshi-katsu as the cause.

It’s interesting that Tokyo city is so loaded up with money, but the national government’s spending is completely out of control.

Perhaps Tokyo city should run the country instead of central government?

One minute they're bribing people to leave the city, the next they're bribing them to stay. Which?!? Be consistent ffs.

I wish my country would do that with OUR money. Instead, we send $100 billion* dollars to Ukraine.

By sending arms to Ukraine, the West is prolonging a conflict that is pushing up prices both directly and indirectly through sanctions. Rapidly rising prices across the economy are a huge disincentive to have kids.

It's a step in the right direction, but there is so much to be done. Maybe the government should grow some backbone and crack down on companies with rigid work environments. Put an end to all this overwork and culture that expects you to be corporate slave; make leave policy something more than a symbolic gesture.

Why October? Why announce now? How about just implement it now.

It's good, but in our case, all of the nurseries in our area are full - we would be paying the full price for our first child and about 1/3 or 1/4 or something like that for the second, but as there are no places right now, we have to pay full price for both of them in a private nursery - it isn't cheap that's for sure!

There are already waiting lists for daycare places all over Tokyo - this needs sorting out before anything else.

"Most developed nations have had free childcare and maternity for decades. Why is it so hard for Japan!?"

Oh, REALLY???

Come to the UK then; you'll be doing a Morris dancing and singing a different tune in no time at all!

You'll be handing over most of your monthly income (almost all of it) to a nanny!

I'm not against any of these gimmicks but before anything else what they should do is make efforts to ensure fair compensation for all everyone