Children
5 items
School Pools Are Disappearing — How Fiscal Gaps Between Municipalities Become Gaps in Learning to Swim
Japan's schools hold 23,411 outdoor pools (Japan Sports Agency, FY2024), and per school the number has fallen from 0.87 to 0.83 at elementary schools and 0.65 to 0.63 at junior high schools, survey after survey. The response to aging and record heat splits into rebuilding, outsourcing, and classroom lessons, and that split turns on municipal finances. This reads how the shared base of learning to swim shifts toward what households can afford, and asks what to keep in public education.
353,970 Non-Attending Students: What Japan's 12-Year High Conceals
Japan recorded 353,970 non-attending elementary and junior-high students in FY2024: the 12th consecutive all-time high. Yet the year-on-year growth rate collapsed from 24.9% at the COVID-era peak to just 2.2%, and new cases fell for the first time in nine years. The data signals a structural shift, but deep challenges remain: 136,000 students receive no professional support, and the government's target of 300 specialized schools stands at only 84.
Is Babysitter Pay a 'Business Expense'? — The Structural Fault Line in Childcare Tax Deductions
Japan does not allow babysitter costs as a tax-deductible expense. While the US, UK, France, Germany, and Canada all provide tax benefits for childcare expenses, Japan's Income Tax Act classifies childcare as a "household expense" and excludes it from deductions. Ahead of the government's summer 2026 policy review, this article compares international systems and examines the design trade-offs.
The Cost of Zero Waitlists — Record 3,190 Childcare Accidents Reveal the Simultaneous Collapse of Quality Amid Quantitative Expansion
Japan's childcare waitlist has shrunk to 2,567 children, yet serious accidents at childcare facilities hit a record 3,190 in 2024. Staffing ratios unchanged for 76 years, a wave of corporate-led nursery closures, and a childcare worker job-opening ratio of 3.78x — the policy of 'building more' has created a structure that erodes quality.
When Children's Tables Break Down — The Triple Crisis of Free School Lunches, Solitary Eating, and Kodomo Shokudo
Japan's school lunches cost just ¥270 per meal, and face quality erosion amid inflation and the 2026 free lunch policy. 34% of children in single-parent households eat only twice a day during summer. Kodomo shokudo (children's cafeterias) have surged to 12,601 locations, but systems built on goodwill alone cannot last. A structural analysis of children's food security across institutional, civil, and household layers.