This is great. And it had already been subsidized before. Also great. My issue, however, was getting in. I worked only part time in late pregnancy and after giving birth so I had to change to a dependent visa, then that only let me work part time, which is not enough to qualify for public daycare 1/ - ThreadSky

gaijinmommy.bsky.social • 75 days ago

This is great. And it had already been subsidized before. Also great. My issue, however, was getting in. I worked only part time in late pregnancy and after giving birth so I had to change to a dependent visa, then that only let me work part time, which is not enough to qualify for public daycare 1/

Reposted from The Japan Times

Tokyo plans to make day care free for all preschool children from September, the city's governor has announced as part of efforts to boost the low birth rate.

Comments

fakeplastictree1.bsky.social•75 days ago

Hot tip for anyone who can't get a public spot: Have a look for company-creche daycare by googling your area name plus 企業主導型保育. Many companies now run small internal daycares, and extra spots get offered to non employees. These are not publicized by your city office, you must look for yourself.

fakeplastictree1.bsky.social•75 days ago

I also want more public daycare, but my experience, even in Tokyo, was that semi-private and creche-style daycare was usually available; it does cost more than public, but is still far cheaper than you'd pay in London or Sydney etc.

gaijinmommy.bsky.social•75 days ago

And as someone who hangs out with young moms a lot I can tell u this isn’t just a problem for foreigners. The only way to get into daycare is if you stay at the same, full time job and get a long maternity leave (Most people get a year. Also great!) But not entirely flexible. And not for everyone.

gaijinmommy.bsky.social•75 days ago

But without a contract with an employer at the time of giving birth, it is very, very hard to get into public daycare. We get stuck in a sort of permanent limbo where we have to be working full time in order to get childcare, but we can’t get a job, or even get to that interview, without it.

josepbautista.com•75 days ago

This is the info I needed to convince a friend’s wife that she shouldn’t quit her job if she’s plnning to get pregnant.

fakeplastictree1.bsky.social•75 days ago

I agree, better to keep it. But please don't panic her unnecessarily. At the risk of repetition, I never qualified for public daycare, but semi-private and creche style daycare were fine and I could find spots. The prices were reasonable compared to comparable cities.

gaijinmommy.bsky.social•75 days ago

I hate that it’s true but it is.

amelieintokyo.bsky.social•75 days ago

Funnily, they’re making it harder to extend the leave past 6/12 months as of next year. Considering your experience you may did not go through that stage, but to extend a parental leave you need to be rejected from public daycare—people that want more time with their infant apply to daycares that

amelieintokyo.bsky.social•75 days ago

are full, get rejected, extend. But now they will require parents to make an effort to apply to public daycares that have space. Excuses like « the only available one is far » won’t be accepted—although it will be pretty much up to the officer’s appreciation of the situation…

amelieintokyo.bsky.social•75 days ago

My friend got told that there’s plenty of space in the area 20 min+ away from her house so if she doesn’t apply to those they will deny her the parental leave coverage. She can decide not to work but she won’t get the leave…

gaijinmommy.bsky.social•75 days ago

Oh that is shitty. I had not been aware of this particular facet of the system, but am not at all surprised. I mean it’s great that they’re making it free, but we shouldn’t forget all the murky issues underneath that. Thanks for sharing it.

bethanh.bsky.social•75 days ago

My first got a place at a public hoikuen (though not until he was 18 months, and not the one right opposite our house...) but for the same reasons as you my second had to go to a rather sketchy private one in an office block in Ikebukuro, no outdoor space. Still cheap by UK standards.

gaijinmommy.bsky.social•75 days ago

If I began to compare anything to US standards my entire argument would fall apart, so I won’t because this is Japan…

aprikosenklang.bsky.social•75 days ago

That‘s what I fear most about getting children in Japan. Dependent visa one it’s own was stressful enough to find a job and get back to working full time eventually 🥲

gaijinmommy.bsky.social•75 days ago

Yes it is hard 🫠

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