The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will conduct a fact-finding survey of elementary school children for the first time regarding children who are caring for their families, so-called "young carers."
Children who care for sick parents and grandparents, and take care of younger siblings are called "young carers," and last year, the government conducted a fact-finding survey of junior and senior high school students for the first time.
Of these, one in 17 young carers was a junior high school student, and the average age at which they started nursing care was 9.9, which is an elementary school student.
For these reasons, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided to conduct the first fact-finding survey for elementary school students from January 2022.
In the survey, about 350 schools were selected from public elementary schools nationwide, and after asking the sixth graders if they had a family who was caring for or caring for them, they had to take a break from school or lack sleep. It means asking if you haven't done so.
In addition, from December, we have begun a survey of third-year university students by extracting about 400 universities nationwide, and are investigating whether family care and other factors have an impact on going on to higher education and job hunting.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will summarize the survey results during this fiscal year and consider support measures.