Young Carers Finally Receive Support 

13-01-2022 

Malina Wiethaus

Japan and Human Rights Researcher 

Global Human Rights Defence 

A survey conducted by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in 2021, revealed a disturbing percentage of so-called young carers in second-year junior and senior high school students. A young carer is commonly defined as a child under the age of 18 tasked with taking care of a family member due to sickness, age, or disabilities (Skinner, 2021). 

The online survey conducted from December 2020 to February 2021, received 13 000 responses in total. The findings portrayed the alarming trend while highlighting its negative effect on the students’ education. In total, 5.7% of junior high school students and 4.1% of senior high school students were found to be young carers. Of the young carers in junior high schools, 10% responded to spending more than seven hours a week performing carer duties. Disturbing 45% of all young carers reported looking after a loved one on a daily basis (Nippon, 2021). 

As a response to this survey, the welfare ministry announced the launch of a program aimed at supporting families with young carers. This program will be implemented in the fiscal year 2022. The main objective is to send helpers to families with student caregivers, which will give them advice, as well as assist them in daily household chores (Jiji, 2022). 

Next to this national program, local governments have made efforts to support young carers. By setting up a “Young Carer Online Saloon” in March 2020, the Saitama Prefectural Government created a safe online space for young carers to exchange experiences and talk to students with similar circumstances (Jiji, 2022). 

Sources and further readings: 

Jiji. (2022, January 13). Ministries to support Japan’s growing number of young carers. The Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/01/13/national/japan-ministries-young-carers/ 

Nippon. (2021, May 5). Young Carers: Survey Finds Alarming Number of Junior and Senior High Students Burdened and Isolated by Caregiving Roles. Nippon.Com. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00997/ 

Skinner, M. (2021, September 1). More needs to be done for young carers in Japan. Zenbird. https://zenbird.media/more-needs-to-be-done-for-young-carers-in-japan/