Japan cancels selective welfare plan

The Japanese government and ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have decided to postpone a plan of “free childcare and education for children aged 5 and older from low-income families,” which was planned to take effect next year. According to the LDP’s 2012 general election pledge for free education and care of preschoolers, the Japanese government had reviewed phased introduction of free nursery and education for children from families with annual income below 3.6 million yen (30,760 U.S. dollars), but the government had to give up the plan due to lack of financial resources. In the midst of sluggish economy, where even the additional increase of consumption tax scheduled in October next year is postponed by a year and a half due to recession, the Japanese government has concluded that free childcare and education is too much luxury.

Japanese Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura said at a press conference in July this year, “Free nursery and education for 230,000 children aged 5 and older from families with annual income less than 3.6 million yen is the minimum plan that cannot be compromised.” However, the Ministry of Finance opposed by saying, “This minimum plan requires 24 billion yen every year. In the future, free childcare and education for all children aged between 3 and 5 requires annual budget over 700 billion yen. It would give too much burden.” Against such backdrop, the Japanese government decided to postpone the plan.

The free nursery and education that the Japanese government postponed targets approximately 20 percent of the entire population of 5-year-old children. It is not the free childcare and education for all children, but a selective program for low-income brackets. It is a small-scale welfare policy, which cannot be compared to all kinds of free welfare pledges poured by Korean politicians before the 2012 election including free school meals and free childcare and education.

The Korean government is rapidly going into financial trouble. Due to the free school meal program that provides all-paid school meals to even children from rich families, the related budget has soared up while the quality of school meals has dropped and budget for education has decreased. Regarding the budget support for free childcare and nursery program targeting children aged between 3 and 5 (Nuri program), the central government, local governments and city and provincial education offices had a tug of war. The relevant parties have agreed on a half-gap measure to make shift with the next year budget, but the fundamental problem remains unresolved. From now on, the Korean government and politicians must reform the “tax-spending welfare under the title of free welfare” including free school meals and free childcare. The welfare system must be transformed to selectively target the class of poor. It will be not sustainable to keep the current welfare system.