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July 01, 2026
 

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PARENTHOOD

The number of children registered for <i>gakudō hoiku</i> after-school care facilities for elementary school students rose by 50,693 to 1,570,645 as of May 1, hitting a record high, according to the Children and Families Agency.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 23, 2025
Waiting lists for gakudō hoiku after-school facilities shorten after four years
The decline has been attributed to local governments improving such facilities’ capacity to accommodate children.
“Dai Pinchi Zukan 3” is part of a series of illustrated kids' books; all three books have been immensely popular, selling a cumulative 2.7 million copies in four years.
CULTURE / Books / 2025 IN REVIEW
Dec 21, 2025
Life lessons from bestselling kids’ book about making mistakes
The top-selling book of 2025, “Dai Pinchi Zukan 3,” is a children’s book about a cloddish kid forever falling into mishaps or “big pinches.”
Like clockwork, the Year of the Fire Horse has depressed birth rates in Japan due to a stigma associated with girls born in the year.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 20, 2025
Will Japan’s ‘fire horse’ curse strike again in 2026?
In 1966, the stigma related to the Chinese sexagenary cycle caused birth rates to plummet.
Shogi player Kana Fukuma speaks at a news conference about issues with Japan Shogi Association rules governing pregnant women, in Osaka on Dec. 10.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 19, 2025
In Japan, a shogi player opens a debate on motherhood and the ‘game of generals’
Kana Fukuma says new rules governing female shogi players would have forced her to choose between her career and having a second child.
Rei Watanabe Prosper (left) and Coralie Prosper attends a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2025
Same-sex international couple petitions for marriage recognition in Japan
The Japanese-French couple says Japan’s refusal to acknowledge their marriage is preventing them from starting a family in France.
To address the economic burden on expectant and nursing mothers, the health ministry plans to set a nationwide uniform amount for childbirth expenses, then fully cover it with health insurance.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2025
Japan to give full insurance coverage for childbirth costs
Childbirth costs have continued to rise due to factors such as inflation, with the nationwide average in fiscal 2024 hitting ¥519,805.
Under a new framework announced by the Justice Ministry, a custodial parent will be entitled to ¥20,000 ($128) per child per month from the other parent after a divorce even without a negotiated or court-ordered child-support agreement.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 28, 2025
Japan finalizes statutory child support payment at ¥20,000 per child

Though there were calls for the support amount to be higher, the Justice Ministry says it is appropriate as it is designed to serve as a “temporary and supplementary” measure.
More than 85% of national public servants took paternity leave in fiscal 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 28, 2025
Record 85.9% of eligible Japan civil servants took paternity leave
Among them, the proportion of those who took child care leave for more than one month stood at 51.4%, exceeding 50% for the first time ever.
The Liberal Democratic Party is planning to add ¥20,000 to child allowances as part of an economic package, LDP policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi has said.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2025
LDP eyes adding ¥20,000 to child allowances
The addition is expected to require funds totaling ¥400 billion, according to Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi.
The Children and Families Agency will launch a model project for the provision of after-school care for elementary students at companies, aiming to reduce waiting lists for gakudō hoiku facilities.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 18, 2025
Eyeing waiting lists, Japan plans model project for after-school care at firms
The Children and Families Agency is aiming to help reduce the length of waiting lists for gakudō hoiku after-school care facilities and support working parents.
Child care space at the Yuarito Day private postnatal care facility, on Oct. 20 in Tokyo's Chuo Ward
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2025
Postnatal care shortages emerge in Japan as demand grows
Provided by midwives and trained caregivers, such services offer hands-on child care assistance or short-term newborn care so families can rest and recover.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department headquarters. Police have rearrested a Tokyo couple on child abuse allegations.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 11, 2025
Mother and partner rearrested over alleged child abuse
The pair allegedly starved the woman’s daughter, causing her to become severely malnourished, police have said.
New guidelines are addressing struggles by teachers to deal with the burden of parents who make irrational complaints that go beyond what is considered socially acceptable, often referred to as "monster parents," which is overwhelming their workload.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 10, 2025
Tokyo looks to keep ‘monster parents’ at bay with new protocols
Measures from limiting the duration of meetings to having a lawyer handle complaints aim to protect teachers from irrational requests and abusive behaviors.
Parents in Japan consider everything from kanji meaning, sound and total strokes when choosing names for their newborns.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 8, 2025
‘Deep Blue,’ ‘Morning Sun,’ ‘Clear Sky’: Japan’s top baby names for 2025
Single-kanji names jumped in popularity this year, possibly in reaction to a new law aiming to crack down on overly creative ”kira kira” names.
Financially struggling families are burdened with educational expenses, as many schools require students to purchase designated uniforms and digital devices, according to a survey.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 7, 2025
Educational expenses for schoolchildren on the rise, survey finds
The average cost of uniforms for first-year junior high and high school students has risen by about ¥10,000 this year.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (center) and other ministers prior to a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 31, 2025
Japan to introduce joint child custody system in April 2026
A system of statutory child support will also be introduced on the same date.
The cost to raise a child totaled ¥16.32 million through junior high school graduation and ¥21.72 million through high school, according to a survey on mothers nationwide.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 24, 2025
Child-rearing costs in Japan soar when a child reaches junior high school
The total cost to raise a child was ¥16.32 million through junior high school graduation and ¥21.72 million through high school, according to the survey.
Riho Fukuyama (center) and her husband Yoshiki Fukuyama (left) speak to the media with their lawyer (right) outside the Toyama District Court in Toyama on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 21, 2025
Japanese man sentenced to eight years after rare public accusation of rape
Koji Daimon was convicted of raping his daughter Riho Fukuyama in 2016, when she was in high school.
Global birth rates are declining, raising concerns about the impact on society, particularly women, as it exacerbates isolation while creating a need for structural and cultural changes to support motherhood.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2025
Can the world handle having fewer moms?
Fewer women are having children. Those who do are having smaller families than previous generations. This trend transcends the norms of any one culture or place.
Major League Baseball's paternity list system drew attention when Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani used it for his wife's childbirth in April this year.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 15, 2025
Japanese pro baseball to introduce paternity leave
“Such a system is commonplace in society, and we are finally getting it,” said Tadahito Mori, head of the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association’s secretariat.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay&#039;s Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team&#039;s loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan&#039;s currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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