JAPAN
Country Highlights
OECD (2009), Doing Better for Children
Japan spends less than the OECD average on children at each stage of childhood, according
to the OECD’s first ever report on children. The Japanese spending shortfall is especially
pronounced for children under age 6, being less than one third of the spending committed to
children between the ages of 6 and 17 years.
Child spending in Ja pan in the early years is less than a third of
tha t spent in la ter stages
Cumulated public spending per child in Japanese (¥) 2003
15-year-olds with less than four educational possessions (000s): 2006
7 100 000
6 000 000 6 200 000
4 000 000
50
40
30
4 200 000
3 000 000
27
5 000 000
6 000 000
On children aged
0 to 5 years
Japan
On children aged
6 to 11 years
On children aged
12 to 17 years
12
10
0
5
1 800 000
18
20
2 000 000
22
6 000 000
48
7 000 000
56
60
8 000 000
1 000 000
Japanese children are more likely to be deprived of basic
educational items
0
Germany France
Korea
Australia United
States
Japan
OECD
OECD average (JPY)
Japan is in the top third of the OECD in terms of levels of average family income, but not all
children benefit. Child poverty in Japan, at 13.7%, is slightly higher than the OECD average of
12.4%. What is especially surprising for a country with high family incomes is the relatively high
proportion of Japanese children – about one in twenty – that lack a key set of educational
possessions such as a quiet study space, a computer, or textbooks. Japan is the fourth worst
performer on this indicator across the OECD, better only than Greece, Turkey and Mexico.
One third of all Japanese children grow up in households disturbed by noise pollution. This
is high compared to the OECD average of one in four children.
Japanese children have a very safe entry into life, which continues into adulthood. So
although Japan has the second highest rate of low birth weight in the OECD, infant mortality
rates are very low, with fewer than 3 deaths per 1000 live births. This extends to children aged
1 to 19 for whom Japan reports the third lowest mortality rates in the OECD.
Japan, along with Korea, reports one of the lowest rates of teenage motherhood among
OECD countries. At 3.7 births per 1000 girls aged 15-19, Japan has the lowest rate of teenage
fertility in the OECD area, where the average of 15.5 births is four times higher.
Based on international evidence, the OECD concludes that Japan should spend
considerably more on younger children to ensure all get a good start in life. Equally, the
Japanese government should ensure that current higher rates of spending on older children are
more effective in meeting the needs of the disadvantaged among them.
www.oecd.org/els/social/childwellbeing