politics

Japan looks to raise ¥3 trillion annually for childcare policy: report

30 Comments
By Kantaro Komiya and Tetsushi Kajimoto

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30 Comments
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More taxes for childcare so that the population will increase? Bit silly really when many say they can't afford to raise a family because of the excessive taxes.

9 ( +22 / -13 )

I remember Abe and his LDP cronies spouting the same guff nearly twenty years ago and nothing has changed since. This is just more vote grubbing guff from the same group of cronies. The funds raised will either be used for something else or misappropriated by local councils. It’s the same old LDP promising the world, increasing taxes and supplying nothing.

2 ( +17 / -15 )

Why isn't anyone asking where in the hell the money from the 2% increase in the consumption tax has gone to?

Seems like all the people in the Diet, LDP and opposition included, have conveniently forgotten that Abe "promised" that the increase in tax money would be earmarked for (drum roll here) CHILD CARE and issues related to raising a child!

It is about damn time the public starts holding THEIR representatives feet to the proverbial fire, and get some answers!

6 ( +19 / -13 )

Agree with all 3 above posters.

Nothing more to say.

Nothing more to believe in.

-7 ( +12 / -19 )

Well I suppose with an aging population we’re going to pay more in sales tax, to pay for said pensions.

as we want women to work, and pay more tax, we’re going to have to pay more in sales tax to pay for child care.

since the government do t want to take responsibility for future pensions, we’re all going to made to save for our pensions personally. So prepare for that coming and being attached to your MY NUMBER account. The future’s bright the futures expensive. Ouch!

-7 ( +6 / -13 )

Why isn't anyone asking where in the hell the money from the 2% increase in the consumption tax has gone to?

You have to remember that the government was already running a massive deficit when they hiked the consumption tax last time.

Extra revenues from consumption tax merely went towards plugging a fraction of that deficit - 5 or 6 trillion yen per year perhaps. But the deficit is still 30 trillion yen.

So those revenues didn’t get spent on new stuff so much as they reduced the increase of the debt mountain.

On the other hand hiking consumption taxes may have reduced tax revenues overall, due to the dampening effect on incomes and profits.

The declining birth trend has been blamed for a worsening labor shortage and reduced long-term economic growth potential.

That’s obvious. The question to ask is why there is a declining birth trend, and could even more central government tax and spend actually reverse that? Rather than exacerbate it.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Totally agree with above comment.

BTW Debt of Japan, 250% of GDP! Real help is needed to raise a family here. Therefore Simply manage better our taxes instead to waste in weapons, high salaries in administraion, dinosaur politicians etc...

4 ( +11 / -7 )

Oh I forgot to add, we need nice new shinny weapons, so we’ve gotta pay more tax for that. But let the pensioners vote LDP again, and again and again!

-4 ( +9 / -13 )

Agree with all of the above !

-8 ( +7 / -15 )

All developed nations have declining birthrates.

11 ( +11 / -0 )

Got an idea, lets have a NEW TAX called Child Care Tax similar to Nursing Care Tax for seniors , and before you know it we will soon have a Mothers care tax, a Teens care tax, Education Tax, and a Prison care tax. then we will have half the nation sitting at home doing nothing and living off the backs of the hard working Japanese who refuse to stay home and be USELESS.

I feel so sorry for all the tax payers as they have NO IDEA how and were these funds are being used.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

125,000,000 is more than enough for an Island this size.

Japan needs to adjust and do with it got, NO need to be #3,4,5 or even #6 economic power. Enjoy life for what it is and live a simple and happy life instead of working to death.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Kishida has said the government will identify the funds for the childcare policy by June and he was not planning to hike consumer sales taxes to that end.

No, if not sales tax he will just raise some other taxes ( income etc ) or call it not a tax but a "special child levy" or similar.

remember Abe and his LDP cronies spouting the same guff nearly twenty years ago and nothing has changed since. This is just more vote grubbing guff from the same group of cronies. The funds raised will either be used for something else or misappropriated by local councils. & Seems like all the people in the Diet, LDP and opposition included, have conveniently forgotten that Abe "promised" that the increase in tax money would be earmarked for (drum roll here) CHILD CARE and issues related to raising a child!"*

Yes, its magic memory loss.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

More taxes for childcare so that the population will increase? Bit silly really when many say they can't afford to raise a family because of the excessive taxes.

 

First, no one says that. Second, I wonder how many people would have children if they had to pay the full cost of education and health care?

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

On the other hand hiking consumption taxes may have reduced tax revenues overall, due to the dampening effect on incomes and profits.

 

No it did not. If you look at the stats, government revenue hit record highs because of greater profits.

 

Japan's FY 2021 tax revenue hits record 67.04 trillion yen

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/07/c823e6786972-japans-fy-2021-tax-revenue-hits-record-6704-trillion-yen.html

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

BTW Debt of Japan, 250% of GDP! 

And what country is the news about not being able to pay their debts? Its not Japan.

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

Japan looks to raise ¥3 trillion in taxes annually for childcare policy. There fixed it.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

The declining birth rate isn't just caused by the economic structure, but has to do with multiple factors that we are still beginning to understand as we have not been in this state of civilization before with advanced technologies that allow us to manipulate the ability to conceive, provide us with other methods of stimulation, and so forth. You also have to look at the fact that at this point in time, there are more people and families with large amounts of debt then there probably has ever been. It isn't encouraging for one to take the first step into parenthood when you have student loans or you have inflated payments towards a house.

This isn't something that can be resolved just by throwing money at so instead of trying to increase more spending by funding off people who have already been robbed previously by the government, maybe a better solution for the economy as a whole can begin with allowing for free and/ or a much more affordable high quality education for the people. Japan ones came out of the ruins because they used government spending to educate the population, it is time to do something similar as we are looking at a potential shift in the working environment where many will probably need to reskill themselves to change careers. So not only would affordable education benefit parents and children, but it would also allow for adults the ability to go back to school which opens up new possibilities for their careers. A highly educated population can produce more people who can come up with solutions and innovate along the way.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

More pre-G7 fluff to anoint the masses and make a goody-goody impression with others of the congregation gathering in Hiroshima.

Why announce now if there are no details -

"..........but the issue of financing the major spending package, such as tax hikes or debt issues, has been unresolved..........."

Or suddenly soon a dissolution of diet and announcing a new election, riding on the coat-tails of chicanery.

What a comic show.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Where did the 2% increase in consumption tax monies go?

Where did the "reconstruction tax" monies go to help resolve the TEPCO disaster 12 years ago?

Where is the great blossoming economy we were promised in the wake of the Olympic boondoggle??

Get your hands in your pockets, serfs. The LDP - Concrete - Dentsu cabal wants more.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

Since big numbers of yen are very difficult to understand, this is about 200 USD per capita.

If this is for "childcare", and all the childcare problems are for under threes, there are about 2.5 million of them, 2% of the population. This means 10000 USD per child under three (on top of what is already spent) for increased availability of care and whatever is happening to the amount parents pay.

Even if childcare is available, many married mothers will still aim to earn under 10000 USD annually, because coincidentally that is the line where the husband's shakai hoken can be used for the basic pension and health insurance. If a working married woman goes 1 yen over, it costs her about 400,000 yen a year to pay for her own health care and pension, assuming the husband is on shakai hoken.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

As long as they don't waste the whole thing as usual.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

More empty nonsense from the LDP trying to look big and important in front of the white folk as usual.

If they were serious the best and most obvious ways to fund these is to lower the LDP salaries (since they also get various gifts and allowances) OR nix/severely reduce a lot of the discounts they get such as FREE hotel and Shinkansen/rail travel. Also start issuing fines for falling asleep in the diet meetings.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

The government earmarked around 6.1 trillion yen for the last fiscal year ended in March to arrest the decline in the number of births.

Money will not buy babies, or at least never enough.

People are living very comfortably on average compare to any previous times.

Women and men, got education free, which is a good right, and also to decide everything in life on its own. Problem is there are no duties as a counterpart : no need to work, no need to raise a family, no need to take care of your oldies.

What did you think woukd happen ?

Hard workers raising a family and in charge of others get strictly no credit in anyway for their contribution to society.

Also I noticed Japan lives way more in the present than rest of the world, with less foreseeing about what is coming next.

I can tel you alas, Japan's future is bleak where you have 10% of population below 15, and 35% over 65 !

Bankruptcy will happen sooner or later... I wish it would not be so.but can see any reason why the trend would reverse magically, or please explain.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I wonder how many people would have children if they had to pay the full cost of education and health care?

Interesting proposition.

Conversely, is a society where families only opt to have children on the basis of receiving financial support from others (or indebting the very children themselves) an attractive one to live in?

In my mind, government policies should be aimed at ensuring the maximum number of families are free to provide for themselves as they see fit. Independent families are happy families in my experience at least.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

And what country is the news about not being able to pay their debts? It’s not Japan.

The US is in the news for having a debate about controlling how much debt they may rack up; Japan politics isn’t even having this conversation despite being in a 2.5 times worse position, and demonstrating a lower economic growth rate too. Lord forbid the BOJ let long term interest rates move to a market level.

By the way, you are right on the point about consumption tax revenues and total revenues. My comment was imprecise, I do believe the consumption tax rate hike to 8 and 10% did increase overall tax revenues, although there may have been negative impact on other tax revenues as a result.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It isn't encouraging for one to take the first step into parenthood when you have student loans

Really.

So let’s say you have a student loan because you became a lawyer.

Are you less likely to have kids than a person who does something lower skilled like hammering nails into wood, with no student loan?

or you have inflated payments towards a house.

I had my first kid before I even owned a house, and mortgage repayments didn’t stop us having more.

Still overseas it does seem housing markets are out of whack. But did we do that to ourselves somehow?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The only ray of hope that I see is getting a nice slice of the inheritance as the current wealthy older generation passes.

Take a look at annual inheritance tax revenues. You may be disappointed.

I am skeptical that destroying the accumulated capital of families through that tax and creating an industry of tax avoidance around it is serving Japan any useful purpose.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@fxgai

I don't know if I worded my phrase correctly, but I believe I mentioned that these are only some issues that may pose a reason why we have a declining birth rate and that money may not be the only issue.

Really.

So let’s say you have a student loan because you became a lawyer. 

Are you less likely to have kids than a person who does something lower skilled like hammering nails into wood, with no student loan?

this is only one example out of the multitude of possibilities out there. Comparing lawyers vs carpenters wasn't part of my discussion. What I was trying to put out there was that a group of people who took on student loans may be lacking confidence in taking up parenting let alone marriage due to their lack of return of investment. A degree doesn't ensure you a lawyer's salary and we have many people today who hold degrees compared to any generation. There are only a hand full of jobs that pay a modest amount.

I had my first kid before I even owned a house, and mortgage repayments didn’t stop us having more.

This is probably the case for many people, again, didn't say this was the only issue. I also made a mistake in my writing as I wanted to say people are having trouble paying for a roof over their heads which doesn't necessarily mean owning a house. That was my mistake, sorry.

Still overseas it does seem housing markets are out of whack. But did we do that to ourselves somehow?

Indeed they are. And yes, to some degree this issue may be our fault. But I wouldn't say this issue is entirely the consumer's fault either. After all, who is the ultimate beneficiary?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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