Komaki city testbed for Komeito’s childcare initiative

May 5 , 2023

In November 2022, Komeito assembly representatives of the city of Komaki in Aichi prefecture proposed that the municipality eliminate the daycare charge on infants aged zero to two at designated service facilities. They also sought to reduce the cost of school lunches; both proposals were adopted by Mayor Shizuo Yamashita, the first city government to do so in the prefecture.

Komaki had already subsidized 50% of the daycare charge on a family’s second child, while the national government has eliminated the charge for dependents between the ages three to five since October 2019. Under the Komeito-inspired program, families will find their financial burden alleviated by ¥600,000 every year.

Komeito believes this and similar programs can be incorporated under the aegis of a national initiative to encourage married couples to have children, many of whom have refrained from doing so due to the financial sacrifice. The goal is to build a nationwide framework consisting of multiple programs to combat the perilous decline in Japan’s childbirth rate.

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