JapanToday: (foreign) Child enefits improve

[Twoller]

http://www.japantoday.com/category/l...ain-ineligible

Child benefits signal rosier future, but some kids remain ineligible

TOKYO — Japan may be able to look forward to European-levels of social welfare in the years ahead and more babies being born amid the aging of society following Friday’s enactment of a child benefits law.

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One problem is that some Japanese children will remain unable to benefit from the plan, despite the DPJ’s policy of ‘‘equally’’ offering all children a chance to receive an adequate education.

The law stipulates that allowances will be provided for children until they graduate from junior high school regardless of whether they are studying in Japan or abroad, providing one of their parents resides in Japan.

Under the law, therefore, Japanese children whose parents are both abroad are not eligible, while foreign children can receive the benefits even if they are in their home country as long as either of their parents is living in Japan.

The law states that any foreign parent who expects to stay in Japan over the next year on any visa other than an entertainment visa will be paid the allowance.

The same system had been applied under the previous childcare policy implemented by Liberal Democratic Party-led governments since the early 1980s in line with an international trend for equal treatment of foreigners.

But Masuda, a researcher on declining birthrate issues, says he has hardly heard of any country, even in Europe, that offers childcare benefits to families whose children are living outside the country.

It had not been viewed as a major problem under the previous policy because the amount was 10,000 yen or less, but 26,000 yen could be the highest level in the world, according to Masuda.

Other experts and opposition lawmakers have raised the possibility of foreign residents in Japan or brokers falsifying applications to take advantage of the substantial subsidies as there is no solid system to verify how many children they have outside Japan.

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The rest of the article is at the above link.