Children on Nursery Waiting Lists in Japan Up for 1st Time in 9 Yrs

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)--The number of children on nursery waiting lists in Japan as of April 1 rose by 181 from a year earlier to 2,435, up for the first time in nine years due largely to a sharp increase in Tokyo, the Children and Families Agency said Friday.

The figure had been declining since peaking in 2017 at 26,081.

Children on waiting lists in Tokyo totaled 1,113 as of April 1, more than tripling from 339 a year earlier.

The agency sees the increase as having been driven by a concentration of demand following Tokyo’s introduction of free child care for first-born children in 2025, as well as an increase in households raising children partly due to cash handouts for those aged 18 and under.

By municipality across the country, Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward had the largest number of children waiting for nursery school places, at 166. Six other wards in the capital also ranked among the top 10, including Adachi Ward with 106 and Kita Ward with 103.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]