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Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Child-rearing allowance extended to fathers with dependent children

The Hatoyama Cabinet has decided to include male-headed single-parent households as eligible recipients of the child-rearing allowance starting in August of next year.

At present, only single-parent households of mothers with dependent children receive the child-rearing allowance. The government pays up to 42,000 yen monthly to female-headed single-parent families with annual income lower than 3.65 million yen.

Fathers of single-parent households have not been provided this allowance no matter how low their income is. This is due to the gender-based notion of the former government that the average income of father-child households is higher than that of mother-child families.

In the summer of last year, fathers of single-parent households made representations to the government calling for the allowance to be extended to them. They established a national liaison council last month to push the government to realize their demand.

In the Diet, Japanese Communist Party House of Representatives member Sasaki Kensho and House of Councilors member Yamashita Yoshiki have repeatedly urged the government to extend the child-care allowance to father-headed single-parent households. The JCP included the demand in its policy platform for the general election in August.

- Akahata, December 25, 2009