Measures against the declining birthrate...

The term "unprecedented" measures against the declining birthrate has even come up, hasn't it?
I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of policies will be introduced.

The "Children and Families Agency" will also be established as an external bureau of the Cabinet Office.
Well, I wonder what will happen.

As a father struggling to raise four children, I am keeping a close eye on the developments.

Unprecedented... huh, does that mean it hasn't been like that until now?
Is this a term that came out like a seesaw, implying that while tax hikes for defense spending are possible, there's nothing for child-rearing?

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has started moving ahead of the national government, feeling that they couldn't wait for the state's actions.

They say they will provide 5,000 yen per month to households with children of high school age or younger.

This also seems to be receiving a huge backlash online.
The comments seem to be saying, "Do you think having one more child costs only 5,000 yen a month!?"

Yeah, yeah, I can understand that feeling too.

I would like to think about it by comparing it with my own home.

Whether or not we can have another child,
I think the economic reason is a big factor.

When my children were small, childcare fees were incredibly high.
There were times when we were paying tens of thousands of yen a month. (Sweat, to the point where rounding it off would reach six figures)
That, along with the tax hike, became almost free of charge.
At typical nursery schools, the necessary expenses became just about the cost of school lunches.

In terms of household economic conditions, it's completely different.
But, I wonder?
The number of births is hitting a record low.

Come to think of it, what is completely different from back then is the cost of living.
Daily food expenses are incomparably higher than they were back then.
Utility bills, gasoline prices, and other essentials for daily life are also rising rapidly.

Along with the tax hike, the amount of money in circulation increased slightly, so it looked like the economy was recovering, but wages have remained stagnant.
It has become a situation where only prices are rising.

Thinking about it that way, I think it has more of a flavor of being a measure against high prices rather than child-rearing support.
But, having it is more helpful than not having it, right?

It was quite a while ago, but
as a form of child-rearing support, the "Child Allowance" was newly established.
In our case, we receive 200,000 yen every four months.
I want to retort, "It's not every month?", but this was an offset against the dependent deduction.

It was also a bit of magic where the amount you receive increases, but the amount deducted doesn't decrease.
In our family's case, we use the child allowance as it is for child insurance, including some savings.
It doesn't cover living expenses, but it's certainly helpful.

Even with the second round of the COVID-19 pandemic,
there was talk of providing 100,000 yen per child,
and whether or not it would be in the form of education-related 'vouchers',
but in the end, it resulted in 'leaving it up to each municipality'.

There was a lot of criticism back then, too.
I believe most municipalities ended up providing cash benefits, didn't they?
The political objective seemed to lean more toward economic support than child-rearing support.

The 'plus one baby' policy has also been talked about for quite a long time.

It means enabling families who want one to have another child!

I think there are immediate economic reasons, but
I feel that long-term worries also follow.

They loudly proclaimed, 'We will make university tuition free!', but it's been about ten years now; I wonder what's happening with that.

Yes, as a parent, the cost of university tuition is a major concern.

As soon as compulsory education ends, tuition fees skyrocket.
I think that concern is something that should be especially considered for the 'plus one baby' initiative.

Money is certainly a big struggle, but
mental well-being,
time,
and physical strength.

I think these three points are especially significant.

For example, even if someone asked me, 'How about another one in your family?', it would be impossible! (laughs)

I'm out on these three points.

We need to think about how society can provide more support for these three areas for the child-rearing generation.

Creatures other than humans
raise their young skillfully without being taught by anyone.
Is it instinct? It's amazing.

But humans don't know what to do unless they are taught by someone or learn for themselves.

We converse with words, possess memory, and learn.
Because we are such creatures, we acquire the skills to raise children within our surrounding human relationships.

Surely, human child-rearing is about this kind of place,
and I think it is important to be able to experience the know-how and joy of raising children within society.

With the establishment of the new 'Children and Families Agency',
look at this naming.
The implicit pressure that children must be raised only within the home.
There is an opinion that this is the fundamental issue to begin with.

Finally,
the mayoral election in Kitakyushu is heating up right now, but

there is an absolute strategy for advancing measures against the declining birthrate.

That is
for the younger generation to vote in large numbers.

I think candidates
are looking at where the voting base is.

They dutifully go to the polls,
and target the elderly population, which has the largest number of people.
Naturally, they will promote those policies aggressively, right?
This is only natural.

The generation that will have children from now on.
The generation that is raising children.
The generation that works together and empathizes with each other.

What would happen if people in these groups voted at a rate close to 100%?

Young people say,
'I want you to think more about child-rearing support.'

This sentiment is two sides of the same coin,
'Let's call all our friends and go vote together!'
I hope it turns out like this.

Thank you for watching again today.

Please note that this article is strictly my personal view, as a father of four.

The wonderful photo at the beginningYuichi Sonobe | note's work is used with permission. Thank you.

<Article from 'today' one year ago★>

Oh!
Reached 30,000 PV!
I was working hard back then...
I'm losing to the me from a year ago. Compared to recently, there are a lot of good articles.