It is necessary to create an environment in which children can be left in someone's care with peace of mind, and to fully support the active involvement of women in society.
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, as of April this year, the number of children whose parents and guardians wish for them to enter certified nursery schools and other childcare facilities but instead are on waiting lists was 12,439, the lowest ever. The figure was down for the third consecutive year as the capacity of nursery schools and other facilities increased by about 80,000 last fiscal year.
It is commendable that each municipal government is steadily making efforts to reduce the number of children on waiting lists.
However, the central government's goal to "eliminate the number of children on waiting lists by the end of fiscal 2020" is hard to achieve. This is because the employment rate of women is on the rise and the number of applicants for nursery schools is increasing, mainly in urban areas.
The spread of the novel coronavirus has reaffirmed the importance of childcare services. The central government must analyze factors that prevent the elimination of the number of children on waiting lists and take effective measures.
One of the challenges to be addressed is that although there are vacancies in nursery schools in a region as a whole, applicants are concentrated on some highly convenient childcare facilities. It is also difficult to secure land to build new facilities in central areas of cities.
The welfare ministry recommends setting up bases for providing pickup and drop-off services in front of train stations and elsewhere, operating shuttle buses to nursery schools with vacancies. Under the system, subsidies are provided to cover expenses such as for bus purchases and drivers.
Another problem is that local governments are unable to accurately predict the increase in demand for childcare. In many cases, as the number of households with preschool children is rapidly increasing due to the development of condominium buildings, local governments cannot deal appropriately with the issue.
Since fiscal 2018, the Osaka city government has required businesses planning to build a condominium building with more than 70 units to consult with the city government in advance about the prospects for how many households with small children will move in and how the businesses will prepare and improve childcare facilities there.
The city also established a system in which, if nursery schools are built in condominiums, residents will be able to use the facilities on a priority basis.
It is important to grasp the trend of childcare needs at an early stage and to prepare and improve facilities efficiently.
There have been many cases in which childcare facilities are unable to accept children due to a shortage of certified nursery workers. In order to improve the quality of childcare, securing certified nursery workers is an urgent task.
In addition to raising their salary, the burden on certified nursery workers should be reduced such as by increasing the number of other staffers in charge of supplementary jobs including cleaning and making working hours more flexible. The central government needs to further improve their working environment.
A total of 950,000 people are believed to be "potential nursery workers" who still have the qualification for the profession, but left their workplace for various reasons. The hope is they can be urged to return to the profession.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on Sept. 8, 2020.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
