Japan begins day care system regardless of parental employment status

Japan began implementing a public system on Wednesday that allows children to attend day care for up to 10 hours per month, regardless of parental employment status, as part of a larger initiative to alleviate child care stress as the number of births continues to decline.The system targets children aged 6 months to under 3 years who were previously ineligible for day care services at authorized child care facilities if a parent was unemployed. According to a government agency, about 60 percent of children in this age bracket were not enrolled in such facilities in fiscal 2023.The program i…READ FULL ARTICLE