Paper short abstract:

The paper analyses the socio-economic and spatial dimensions of child poverty in Japan and looks into policy approaches undertaken by the central and local governments to address this issue. The focus is on local learning support programs enabling participating communities to enhance resilience.

Paper long abstract:

In the context of shrinking cities, poverty can be interpreted as a broad concept encompassing reduced access to a range of resources, particularly in rural and geographically remote areas. Residents of shrinking communities may experience a lack of economic, educational and career opportunities, social exclusion, and a resulting poverty of aspiration. Child poverty, in particular, is attracting growing concern in Japan, a country characterized by growing inequalities. It is a phenomenon requiring serious policy attention, because it has both a socio-economic and a spatial dimension: firstly, it affects the health and happiness of children and their families, and also their potential to access higher education, well-paid jobs, and to actively contribute to a society faced with the challenge of a rapidly declining and ageing population; secondly, the spatial dimension of child poverty should matter to policymakers because society's most vulnerable groups tend to be concentrated in spatially disadvantaged areas. This paper addresses these dimensions of child poverty in Japan by means of Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions data analysis, and examines recent policy approaches undertaken by the government to address them. In addition to selected prefectural strategic plans, the focus is on the "Chiiki mirai juku" (Community Tutoring School for the Future) program, a community-based learning assistance program for children. Improvements in local learning support coupled with the use of advanced information technology and new opportunities for bottom-up decision-making may enable participating communities to enhance resilience and quality of life.