URAYASU, Chiba — Following a move by Tokyo, this east Japan city is set to make day care fees for children aged 2 and younger free to alleviate the financial burden on those raising children.
The measure, which the Urayasu Municipal Government aims to implement from April, will be the first of its kind among local governments in Chiba Prefecture, east of the capital.
According to city officials, the free day care program is being offered to the parents who have their children in classes for 0 to 2-year-olds at 55 facilities within the city, including licensed day care centers, regardless of their income or the number of children they have. Fees for extended day care and the actual costs of snacks will not be covered. The city is allocating some 580 million yen (approx. $3.77 million) in its fiscal 2026 draft budget for the initiative, which is expected to cover some 1,900 children in total.
The national government in 2019 made day care fees free for children aged 3 to 5, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government started a free program for those aged 0 to 2 in fiscal 2025. Urayasu is often compared with its neighbor Tokyo, which has abundant tax revenue, in terms of administrative services, and residents had asked the city to implement a similar free daycare program.
Urayasu Mayor Etsushi Uchida told a Feb. 4 press conference, “We inevitably have to be aware (of the gap with Tokyo). Fundamentally, we want the national government to take responsibility for ensuring the national minimum (standard of living).”
(Japanese original by Takashi Ishizuka, Chiba Bureau)
date: 2026-02-11 09:35:00