Will a new agency be able to deal with the problems surrounding children and families and come up with bold measures to overcome the decrease in the number of children? This yet-to-be established agency must be well organized with appropriate staffing to be able to function properly.
The government has adopted a bill to establish a "child and family agency" that will be in charge of child-related policies in a unified manner, aiming to launch it in April 2023.
The agency will be established as an external organ of the Cabinet Office, and childcare and other services will be transferred from the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry to the new agency. It will have a cabinet minister with the authority to make recommendations to other ministries, and the government plans to increase the number of staff to about 300 from the initial plan.
