Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, and Masanobu Ogura, the minister in charge of policies for children, right, pose for a photo with children holding Japanese letters to make up the Children and Families Agency’s nameboard in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on the first working day at the ministry. (Pool)

A new first-year junior high school student asked, “If Japan’s birthrate rises and the population becomes younger, will children become less valuable?” at a news conference for Masanobu Ogura.

Ogura is the minister in charge of policies for children who effectively manages the Children and Families Agency launched at the start of April.

I was taken aback by the question, which describes a situation that is the exact opposite of what is occurring in Japan and is a serious policy challenge to Japan’s policymakers.

But the question made sense to me after I heard some additional words, “I am worried that if there are more children, society may only need them as tools.”

This is a fundamental question about the government’s response to the problem. Is this only about increasing the number of children? Will the government really pay attention to those children’s voices?

A total of 13 “child reporters,” first-year junior high school students and sixth-graders, were invited to attend the news conference. As I heard their sharp questions, I felt that they understood.

They know well that the government’s “different dimension” measures to deal with the nation’s shrinking child population are simply designed to address concerns among adults that the trend will lead to serious problems such as an underfunded public pension program and a labor crunch.

The late Tadashi Matsui, who as a book editor led the postwar development of Japan’s children’s literature, introduced 62 years ago a new format for picture books that was designed to make them easier for children to read.

His new picture books were horizontal with texts written laterally, unlike the traditional vertically oriented format. When libraries complained that such books could not fit on their shelves, Matsui asked them to adjust the shelves for the new format instead of trying to adjust the books to the shelves.

Will the new agency be able to respond to children’s needs? The name of the agency has been changed from the original idea of “the children agency” by inserting the word “families,” while the proposal to set up an independent entity responsible for monitoring the agency’s policy actions and making recommendations has been dropped.

These moves have been prompted by resistance from conservative politicians who place great value on traditional views about families.

Another intriguing question asked at the news conference was whether the policy initiative was just an attempt to garner votes in elections or if it will continue until today’s children become adults.

April 9 was voting day for many local government chief and assembly elections that constitute the first half of the unified local elections this spring.

I hope voters considered children’s viewpoints when they cast their ballots.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 9

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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