Rules Tightened for Parental Leave Benefits

What does it mean to intentionally miss out on a nursery spot? We spoke with parents about the reality behind this issue.

At a nursery school in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, an entrance ceremony was held. Parents expressed hopes that their children would try many new things, make lots of friends, and experience activities they could not do at home. Otsu has become increasingly popular among families raising children, and some parents who applied for nursery admission were unsuccessful.

One nursery reported that perhaps 100 or 150 applicants visited this year, with very few openings available. Many parents faced difficulties securing a spot. One parent said, "We actually wanted to enter around autumn, but since it was said to be easier to enter in April as a 0-year-old, we hurried to apply."

Meanwhile, others approached nursery applications with different intentions. A television station interviewed A, a mother raising a two-year-old son in Osaka Prefecture.

"I thought there was no way we would get accepted, so if you call it 'aiming to miss placement,' I suppose it was," said A.

Submitting a "notice of unsuccessful nursery application" enables an extension of parental leave benefits beyond the usual cutoff when a child turns one. Normally, benefits end when the child reaches their first birthday. However, if a parent submits proof that their child was unable to enroll in nursery care, benefits can be extended until the child turns two.

Some parents intentionally apply to popular, hard-to-get-into nurseries to secure such a rejection notice. Officials at Hello Work, the employment office that reviews benefit extensions, said they have seen cases where parents applied to nurseries with low admission chances, were offered a spot, declined it, and then reapplied elsewhere to continue extending their leave.

In response, the government introduced stricter rules from April. In addition to a rejection notice, parents must now submit a written explanation if they apply to a nursery far from home. Depending on the reason, their extension request could be denied.

"There is a question of whether aiming for an extension itself is appropriate. Only after applying sincerely and being rejected should an extension be granted," an official explained.

Is it wrong to aim for rejection?

A, who struggled to balance work and picking up her child when he turned one, said she deliberately chose nurseries nearby to make future commuting easier, rather than applying purely to fail. "Since I work late and handle childcare alone, it would have been really hard if commuting took a lot of time. I didn't think it was wrong to receive some benefits while continuing to care for my child," she said, adding that she nonetheless felt some guilt.

This spring, she enrolled her child at a kindergarten accessible by car. Reflecting on the system, she said, "Society is different now. In the past, family and neighbors might help raise children, but today the burden falls entirely on parents."

A recent survey found that 64.3% of respondents considered the rule requiring rejection for leave extension problematic.

Experts point out that simply tightening the rules does not solve the underlying issue. "Companies need to make remote work and other flexible arrangements more accessible," said one specialist. "Policies should create an environment where parents can balance work and childcare without focusing solely on nursery placement outcomes."

The current system seems increasingly mismatched with the realities of modern family life. Some parents, like A, apply with a strong desire to balance both worlds, while others are overwhelmed by the burden and seek extensions as a coping strategy.

"There is a diversity of opinions," said one commentator. "It's not necessarily wrong to want to extend leave while raising a child. But the system’s inflexibility forces parents to take such measures."

Another pointed out that some parents' feelings change after childbirth: "It can turn out to be much harder than expected, and that emotional shift deserves understanding."

There was consensus that society needs to recognize various parenting styles and support systems accordingly. "We should foster a sense of raising children together as a society," one expert concluded.

Source: KTV NEWS