Will the child-rearing environment, child safety, and poverty problems really change?

The Children's and Family Agency was newly established as the "Control Tower of Children's Policy." The future focus will be on whether we can secure the necessary financial resources while breaking down the "silos" of government offices and lead effective initiatives.

What are the features? The challenge? We summarized it in detail in the Q&A.

[First, I asked my child]

We asked a junior high school in Kunitachi City, Tokyo, about the national and local governments' efforts to "reflect children's opinions" with the establishment of the Children's and Family Agency.

"I'm glad that adults respect children as human beings and listen to their voices, and I hope that society will become child-centered" (a female student in the third year of junior high school)

"By having the opportunity to express my opinion, I can feel closer to the government's efforts. I want to see the creation of an environment where children can express their opinions with peace of mind" (a male student in the second year of junior high school)

One side...

"I think it's a good thing that the 'Children and Family Agency' was established, but I think it's meaningless if children don't know about it, so I want more opportunities to learn about it,"

said some people who said that it was the first time they heard of the Children's and Family Agency, and others said they didn't know what kind of role the ministry played.

【What is the Children's and Family Agency?】

Q.What do ministries do?

The Children's and Family Agency was established on the 6st of this month with a team of about 400 people based on a law enacted in June last year as a "control tower for children's policy."

The main responsibilities are ▽
Payment of child allowance ▽ Consistent support
from pregnancy to childbirth and child-rearing ▽ Childcare administration

▽ Measures against

child abuse, bullying and poverty In addition to planning a wide range of policies that should be addressed cross-sectionally, it is also given the "right to make recommendations" to each ministry and agency to request improvements in comprehensive coordination to ensure steady implementation, and plays a leading role in promoting policies throughout the government.

Q.What kind of organization do you have?

Ms. Yumiko Watanabe, who served as Director General of the Children and Families Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, was appointed as the first head of the administrative staff.

The Children and Family Agency consists of the following three departments.

"Secretary-General's Secretariat" = Plans a wide range of children's policies that should be addressed cross-sectionally in each ministry and agency, and is responsible for comprehensive coordination so that they are steadily implemented.

"Child Development Bureau" = A department that is mainly responsible for policies that support the growth of children, and is in charge of the payment of child allowance, consistent accompaniment support from pregnancy to childbirth and child rearing, and the operation of nursery schools and children's school systems.

"Support Bureau" = In addition to child abuse and bullying, poverty and suicide countermeasures, it is responsible for supporting children and families who face difficulties, such as support for children called "young carers" who are busy caring for family members.

On the other hand, educational administration will continue to be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and will proceed with its work in cooperation with each other.

Q.What kind of people work there?

One of the characteristics of the Children and Family Agency is the appointment of human resources from the private sector.

Of the approximately 430 employees, 1% are hired from private companies and NPOs, and by appointing experienced human resources who have been involved in children-related projects, the aim is to lead to policy formulation that makes more use of the voices of the field.

Drawing on private experience

Daisuke Kaga, 36, who was hired for a fixed term, worked as a high school teacher before working at an NPO to support the learning of children in the disaster-stricken areas and support children and young people from needy households.

Taking advantage of this experience, the Children and Family Agency will be in charge of policies related to "creating places where children can belong," and plans to formulate guidelines within this fiscal year.

"As a bridge between the country and the field"

Daisuke Kaga expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "I wanted to be involved in the field and want to be involved with more children, but I felt limited, so I came to the Children's and Family Agency to be involved in reviewing policies and structures.

In addition, an employee who was transferred from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said, "While the way of thinking that has been working as a public servant for a long time is fixed, working with people in the private sector often leads to new perspectives."

【What kind of society do we aim for?】

The goal of the Children's and Family Agency is to create a "children's society."

Q.What is a "children's society"?

It is a society that always puts the interests of children first and places initiatives and policies related to children in the center of the country. The pillar of the realization is to support all children without being left behind as a target of the policy.

One of the important initiatives is to reflect children's opinions in measures.

"I want you to listen to the opinions of children in need."

With the establishment of the Children's and Family Agency, there have been calls for careful opinions from children in difficult situations.

Saki Kobayashi, 5, a fifth-grade elementary school student living in Aichi Prefecture, has a leg disability and attends a local elementary school in a wheelchair and is enrolled in a special needs class while also taking regular classes.

However, the school also had issues such as the allocation of staff to provide support, so parents and children have made efforts to communicate their problems one by one, saying "I want to learn with my friends."

As a result, ramps and stairclimbers were installed in the school so that wheelchairs could move around, and seats were placed in front of the classroom because it was difficult to write on the board due to visual impairment.

Right now, Saki is in discussions with local junior high schools so that she can continue to learn while receiving support as she has in the past, but she feels that it is not easy to explain her problems and have them understand.

Saki's essay "Please don't leave your friends out"

(Sakiki) said,
"If I were a family member, I would be able to say it, but it is difficult to say that I am a teacher, and I hesitate to say that I am a teacher, and it is easy to say that they listen to my opinions slowly even when there are other children."

(Sakiki's mother)
"I think it is epoch-making to listen to the opinions of children, and I hope that it will create an environment where parents can raise their children with peace of mind without having to work harder than necessary. I want not only children who are energetic and able to express their opinions, but also the voices of children who are really in trouble."

Q.How do you listen to children's opinions?

How do we listen to these voices?

The Children and Family Agency has started a project to listen to the opinions of about 1,20 children and young people and reflect them in policies, and invites people from elementary school students to those in their 1s who want to express their opinions to register on its website.

Any child or young person from the first grade of elementary school to their twenties can register, and not only the Children and Family Agency but also various ministries and agencies can solicit opinions on policies related to children, and children and young people themselves can propose themes that they would like to hear their opinions on.

Whether it's on social media or face-to-face

In addition to face-to-face interviews, we also use online and SNS to listen to opinions, and if it is difficult to convey opinions, it is assumed that staff from the Children and Family Agency will go directly to the activities and places of life of children and young people.

In addition, after listening to opinions, we explain how they were reflected in policy and the reasons why they were not reflected.

Registration for this project begins on the website of the Children and Family Agency, which means that you can register at any time.

【What are the challenges?】

Q.What are the major challenges at hand?

This is a response to the declining birthrate.

Based on the basis for measures to address the declining birthrate compiled last month through discussions among relevant ministries and agencies, we will proceed with consideration of the specifics of measures, the scale of the budget, and financial resources.

Then, by the time the Basic Policy is formulated in June, we will present a general framework for doubling the children's budget in the future.

"What are the specific contents of the government's measures to address the declining birthrate?" From now on? 【Details】

The Q&A summarizes in detail the government's efforts to strengthen measures to address the declining birthrate.

In addition, it is necessary to respond to a wide range of issues that span ministries and agencies, such as bullying, truancy, child abuse and poverty, measures against suicide among young people, and support for children called "young carers" who are busy caring for family members.

Securing financial resources and cooperation with educational administration are also issues

On the other hand, the country's fiscal situation is becoming increasingly severe amid an increase in social security costs and defense expenditures expected to increase against the backdrop of an aging population.

The question will be whether we can break down the silos between government offices while securing financial resources to support a wide range of measures and lead effective initiatives.

In addition, while the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have centralized operations related to children at the Children's and Family Agency, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will continue to be in charge of educational administration such as schools and kindergartens, and it is likely that the issue will be whether policies can be smoothly advanced.

【Experts】

We asked Professor Sueyoshi of the Faculty of Humanities and Sciences at Japan University, who is familiar with children's policy.

Q.Why do we need children's opinions?

"Children in Japan are in a serious situation where their happiness and self-esteem are low among developed and major countries, and they do not want to improve society.

Q.What do you ask of the Children and Family Agency?

"For example, I would like them to identify measures that have been decided based on the opinions of adults instead of listening to the opinions of children even though they have been using parks, and take leadership in urging each administrative agency. I want you to carefully listen to the opinions of the adults around you."