Photo/Illutration The Diet building in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The government is expected to call a new agency for children the "Agency for Children and Families" as some ruling Liberal Democratic Party members want support for parents to be included, sources said. 

Originally, the new agency, proposed in the spring by former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, was to be called "Agency for Children."  

The government plans to establish the agency in fiscal 2023. It has submitted a draft policy on its formation along with the name to an LDP meeting on Dec. 15.

It aims to put together a final plan by the end of this year and pass a bill on this measure in the ordinary Diet session next year.

Preparations for setting up a new agency responsible for children-related policies were started under Suga's instructions. 

However, there hasn't been a consensus over its name within the ruling parties, with Komeito, the LDP's junior coalition partner, promising to set up an "Agency for Children and Families" in its election manifesto for the October Lower House election. 

Some in the LDP have said too that "families" should be added to the agency's name because the government should provide support to parents as well, not just children.

The government still plans to listen to others within the LDP who have voiced disagreement with the name change, saying that policies on children concern society as a whole and not just their families.

Related News