[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a meeting of the founders of the national movement to support children’s futures at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Prime Minister said in his address,

“Child poverty is a fundamental problem that undermines the healthy functioning of society, whereby people are supposed to be rewarded for hard work. I would like all of society to work together to ensure that a child’s future is not determined by his or her family’s financial circumstances.

The draft budget for this fiscal year contains provisions that significantly enhance support measures such as learning assistance programs for junior high school students that are in principle free, and the provision of school social workers, with schools serving as a platform for measures to address poverty.

We will also undertake initiatives for ensuring that students never have to discontinue their education for financial reasons, including the provision of scholarship funds for high school students, and the enhancement of supports such as interest-free scholarships and tuition waivers for university students.

Furthermore, we need to provide greater support for the independence of single-parent households and households with multiple children who face financial hardships despite being employed. We must also augment assistance programs for child-rearing, daily life, work, and financial matters, while also establishing frameworks that ensure that governmental assistance reaches families in need.

I will instruct relevant Cabinet members including the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare to consider such enhanced measures, determine a policy direction by around the summer, and finally prepare a policy package that includes plans to secure funding by the end of this year.

We will also review the current budget with regard to social security and education, in order to create a framework that will support children’s development across all of society. I would like to kindly ask those of you from business and industry, too, for even greater assistance for these efforts.  

Furthermore, I would like to ask local governments as well to formulate plans to address child poverty, and provide assistance to those in need in partnership with local companies and NPOs.

I want to make Japan a place where children can have goals and dreams for the future and take steps toward achieving these dreams, regardless of the environment they are in. I strongly feel that until we do so, Japan will not have a future. To achieve this vision, we will need to work together and combine our strengths. For this reason, today we are joined by representatives from all sectors of society. I am extremely encouraged by this commitment. Let us work together as one to make Japan a kinder, brighter, and stronger country that is full of vitality and where everyone has a chance. Thank you.”