Tokyo to offer free daycare for all preschool children

On Dec. 10, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced that the city will offer free daycare for all preschool children starting in September 2025, Japanese news outlet Mainichi Shimbun reported.

According to local media, this will be Japan's first initiative of its kind at the regional level, particularly in a major city with a population of 14 million.

"No time to spare" to address demographic crisis

While many developed countries struggle with low birth rates, Japan is especially impacted, with its population continuing to decline in recent years.

In 2023, the number of babies born in Japan dropped for the eighth consecutive year, reaching a new record low, Nikkei Asia reported.

To alleviate the financial burden on families, the initiative proposed builds on the existing free daycare program policy that only provides the benefit to second-born children and beyond, to include first-borns as well, Mainichi reported.

In a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly meeting, Koike emphasised the urgency of the issue when she announced the plan, stating, "Japan is facing the crisis of a declining number of children, which isn't going away."

According to Fortune, she said that "there is no time to spare" in addressing the problem, citing concerns from the prime minister and other officials about the impending demographic crisis.

Building on existing daycare waiver policy

The Japanese government began waiving daycare fees in 2019 for children aged 3 to 5, as well as for infants aged 0 to 2 from households exempt from resident taxes, Mainichi reported.

Building on this existing strategy, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government expanded the program in 2023 to offer free daycare for second-born children and younger, up to age 2, without income restrictions.

Now, the Tokyo government has proposed making daycare free for all children, including first-borns.

While public daycare is currently only available to working parents in Japan, the national government hopes to extend access to all households in the future.

Initiative is one of Koike's campaign promises

A former minister and television anchor, Koike has governed Tokyo since 2016.

She won a third term in July, after promising to enhance social welfare benefits while acknowledging the challenges facing residents, according to a report by the Japan News.

One of her key campaign promises was to expand free daycare services to include firstborn children.

Since her reelection, she has been working with local governments and other groups to implement the plan.

According to a report by Mainichi, the budget for the initiative is expected to exceed 40 billion yen (about S$392 million).

Other proposed measures to increase birth rate

Japan, with the world’s second-oldest population, is grappling with growing labor shortages due to strict immigration policies.

As a result, the country will need to find ways to encourage its citizens to have children.

In early December, Koike proposed a four-day workweek for Tokyo's government employees, set to begin in April, as part of a broader initiative to encourage parenthood and enhance work-life balance, according to Fortune.

The government is also introducing a “childcare parental leave” policy that will allow certain employees to reduce their working hours by two hours a day.

One interesting initiative introduced by the Tokyo government in June 2024 was the launch of a dating app designed to boost birth rates by connecting eligible singles.

Top image from Canva