Boosting support for parents of children with disabilities in Japan
Many such parents, who have been balancing work and care-giving responsibilities, are often forced to leave their jobs to devote more time to caring for their children. This situation, known as the "age 18 barrier," frequently leads to financial hardship.
In response, some businesses and local governments have developed support measures to help parents remain in the workforce.
"In a society where dual-income families are the norm, only parents raising children with disabilities are left behind," said a mother who resigned from her job of 30 years after her daughter graduated from a special education school.
She spoke at a news conference in Tokyo last December, organized by a general incorporated association of parents raising children with disabilities and those requiring medical care.
When children with disabilities reach adulthood, the central government shifts its welfare support to programs that promote their independence.
Children with disabilities who attend daily living assistance facilities that provide constant nursing care, or continuous employment support facilities that offer light work opportunities, will no longer be permitted to use after-school day services. Previously, such services allowed students at special education schools to stay until around 6 p.m. after classes ended.
Most of these and similar facilities are available only until around 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. As a result, many parents are forced to leave their jobs because they cannot find care for their children during the late afternoon. This situation leads to concerns about lower pensions in the future, as well as worries about how their children will manage without parental support after they are gone.
The government has been implementing the revised child care and nursing care leave law in stages since April. The new regulations require businesses to give due consideration to employees' individual circumstances, helping them better balance work with child care or nursing care responsibilities.
Nursing care leave can now be used not only for caring for the elderly, but also for supporting individuals with disabilities or those in need of medical care. For parents raising children with such needs, companies are required to survey employees' preferences regarding working hours, job assignments and other related matters by the time the children turn 3 years old, and to accommodate these needs as much as possible.
Some companies, responding to the heartfelt concerns of employees raising children with disabilities, are taking proactive steps ahead of legal requirements.
Fujitsu and NEC, for example, now allow employees to work reduced hours for as long as they need to provide nursing or other care. East Japan Railway permits employees to take up to two years of leave, depending on their children's needs. Additionally, the railway operator, known as JR East, is developing a support network through which employees raising children with disabilities or intractable diseases can share information and discuss their concerns.
Still, despite these corporate initiatives, challenges remain, particularly regarding career development and income stability. It is therefore essential to further expand welfare resources, such as increasing the availability of facilities that support children with disabilities.
Starting in April, Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward extended the operating hours of its daily living assistance centers. As a result, about 15 children, including ones from dual-income families, are now utilizing these facilities.
"After listening to parents, we became acutely aware of their urgent need for assistance," said Kaori Matsuyama, chief of the disability support section at the ward office's welfare department. "Both the facilities and the ward office wanted to take action. As we anticipate an increase in the number of users in the future, we hope to establish a system that can accommodate their needs."
Similar support measures have been introduced by other municipalities as well. In April, Tokyo's Setagaya Ward launched a project to assist with transportation between daily living care facilities and users' homes.
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