1.
children waiting for daycare placement
children who cannot be enrolled in nursery schools or daycare centers due to lack of available spots, despite their parents having applied
Cultural note
A major social issue in Japan from the 2000s, especially in big cities: parents apply for a public daycare place and are refused because the centers are full, which makes it hard for them, usually mothers, to return to work. The government set 待機児童ゼロ ("zero children on waiting lists") as a policy goal, and official numbers fell sharply in the 2020s.