Additional Burden for Child Care

The Cabinet of Fumio Kishida submitted the Diet a bill for measures to deal with low birth rate. Calling them “different-dimensioned” measures, Kishida insists that the nationals may not have any additional payment for the policy. However, he told in the discussion of House of Representatives that everyone would be paying monthly ¥500 or less for supporting the new system. The opposition parties argue that Kishida had lied to the public. 

Kishida administration released the Children Future Strategy last December, which listed its policies for supporting for families with child. They include coverage of college tuition for a family with three kids or more, or securing shelters for kids suffering from domestic violence. The government suppose the strategy will cover every family with a child and make workers easier to raise kids.

 

The strategy requires ¥3.6 trillion a year, out of which ¥1 trillion will be covered by newly-established “supporting fund.” The fund will be collected from the members of medical insurance. Kishida administration hopes to dig up the rest of financial resource with reform of spendings for social security (¥1.1 trillion) and appropriating other existing budgets (¥1.5 trillion).

 

So, the point being focused in the Diet discussion is how much the insurance members will have to pay for “supporting fund.” The fund is going to be accumulated for three years and it requires ¥600 billion in FY 2026, ¥800 billion in FY 2027 and ¥ 1 trillion in FY 2028. Kishida revealed the estimation of the government in early February that it would take ¥500 or less from every insurance member for the fund in FY 2028.

 

The opposition parties accused Kishida of demanding additional expense from the people. Quoting Kishida’s explanation that his childcare strategy would not require additional payment for the people, the oppositions call the fund an effective tax increase. Kishida explains that the burden of the people will not increase, because the payment for social insurance will be reduced by governmental reform and workers’ wage is rising up.

 

Kishida administration is suffering from slush fund scandal, in which the lawmakers of Liberal Democratic Party were involved in receiving unreported political funds. The opposition parties accuse LDP of secretly accepting tax money, while they demand the people additional payment for new “supporting fund” for raising kids. “Tax evasion for lawmakers, tax increase for the people” is a common phrase the oppositions use.

 

Increasing the budget for raising children and avoiding additional burden of taxpayers are fundamentally incompatible. It is necessary for political leader to explain the necessity for policies to deal with low birth rate and generate a consensus among the people. However, Kishida administration, suffering from the lowest approval rate since LDP returned to the administration in 2012, cannot afford to take a necessary but unpopular policy with honest explanation.