Japan to Certify Rural Biz Promoting Child Care Support

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to create a system in fiscal 2027 to certify mainly small and midsize businesses in rural areas that provide child care support for local communities. It will consider cutting corporate taxes for certified companies and give them preferential treatment when selecting winners of public works and goods supply contracts. By encouraging improvements in child-rearing environments, it aims to revitalize regional economies and fight a decrease in births. The certification system will recognize corporate efforts to develop products for households raising children, establish nursing rooms and support the operations of “kodomo shokudo” community cafeterias, which provide free or low-cost meals mainly to needy children. In granting certification to applicant companies, the government will take into account the involvement of management and cooperation with local stakeholders. The Children and Families Agency will make a tax reform request for fiscal 2027 that includes tax credits and other preferential measures for certified companies. In the type of bidding for public works and goods supply deals that also evaluates contributions to local communities, the central government will grant additional points to bidders that have the certification. Eventually, similar additional points are also expected to be introduced in bidding for contracts with local governments. Additionally, investment and low-interest loans are likely to be provided to certified companies through government-affiliated financial institutions and regional banks. Japan already has a certification system, called “kurumin,” to promote child care support measures within companies. The system assesses the share of employees taking child care leave and other factors and grants certified companies preferential tax treatment and extra points in selecting winners of supplier deals. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]