Providing adequate support to all child-rearing families a must
(From The Japan Times April 1 issue)

要約
すべての子育て家庭に支援を

The Diet enacted March 26 a bill to provide a child allowance of ¥13,000 per month per child in fiscal 2010. The new measure is an important addition to government efforts to support families raising children.

The allowance will apply until a child graduates from middle school. In fiscal 2010, a total of ¥2.255 trillion will be paid to parents of 17.35 million children, some 5 million more than are presently covered by a similar but limited allowance. In principle, parents will apply to municipal offices to receive the allowance. The payments will be made three times a year, with the first scheduled for June.

Equity must be ensured with regard to social welfare and tax matters, but the Hatoyama administration should ignore calls to reduce the allowance for "high-income" families. In practical terms, this would place an overwhelming burden on municipal offices, which would have to assess each household’s income. The administration should pursue the idea of combining the child allowance with an adequately progressive income tax. It should consistently reinforce the philosophy behind the allowance: It is based on the view that society as a whole is responsibile for child rearing and hence for giving adequate support to all child-rearing families, irrespective of income levels.

The administration plans to boost the allowance to ¥26,000 from fiscal 2011, which would take the total cost to ¥5.4 trillion a year. This may prove impossible to implement, considering other needs that exist. Child-related services such as nursery schools require improvement. As of Oct. 1, an estimated 46,000 children were unable to gain access to such facilities. The government must make best use of limited funds, but it is important to make the allowance permanent, even at the lower amount, so that families can plan ahead.

Two clauses are in need of adjustment. Foreigners likely to live in Japan for one year or longer can receive the child allowance even for children living abroad. On the other hand, the allowance does not cover Japanese children living in Japan if their parents live abroad. Both points must be rectified.

子育て支援拡充の新たな政策である子ども手当法が成立し、中学卒業までの子ども1人に対し6月から月1万3000円が支給される予定だ。社会保障と税金に関しては公平性が必要だが、子ども手当の所得制限案は却下すべきだ。鳩山政権は同手当と累進所得税を組み合わせ、子育ては社会全体の責任であり、所得に関わらず子育て家庭を支援するという理念を強化すべきだ。

保育所など関連施設の改善も必要だ。予算は限られているが、家庭が将来設計を立てられるよう、手当は続けるべきだ。子どもを母国に残す在日外国人に手当が支給され、海外に居住する日本人が受給できないといった問題についても見直しが必要だ。