Nursery school rules change on Dec 25: children and schools at Kawasaki City Council in June (criminal record checks, gym air conditioning, school absence)

This is a shorter version, for this site, of our editorial team's note article on the children and schools topics from the Kawasaki City Council's 2nd regular session (June 1–24). Water rates and the typhoon are covered in our previous article.

Reading back through the minutes, someone was talking about schools or childcare almost every day. The June session was about quickly rebuilding the systems that protect children.

From Dec 25, nurseries must check staff for sex-crime records

Ordinances changing the rules for nursery schools, certified child centers, day facilities for children with disabilities and others were passed together on June 18. They follow the national Child Sexual Violence Prevention Act (the so-called Japanese DBS).

	Facilities
Checks mandatory	Licensed nursery schools, certified child centers, children's homes, etc.
Can join if certified	Unlicensed nurseries, after-school clubs, etc.

• Operators check staff who work with children for sex-crime records through a national system.
• They inform staff about the system, review work rules and job postings, and hold training.
• The parts of the revised city ordinances on criminal record checks take effect on Dec 25.

The city said it will spread the word that certification builds parents' peace of mind and trust in operators. Whether your provider is certified may be a useful guide.

On sexual violence by teachers, the city drew up a draft policy in May 2026 on the first response when abuse is suspected: report consultations and reports to school managers and the Board of Education right away, keep the teacher away from the child, and keep records.

Air conditioning in 110 gyms by the end of FY2029

Students at municipal schools taken to hospital by ambulance with suspected heatstroke numbered 7 in fiscal 2023, 17 in fiscal 2024 and 15 in fiscal 2025.

• Gyms: 110 gyms at 81 elementary and 33 junior high schools, plus 22 martial arts halls and more. A contract is planned for June 2027, installation by the end of fiscal 2029, and maintenance until the end of fiscal 2041. Design through maintenance is entrusted to the private sector as one package (PFI). The cost of air conditioning, insulation and maintenance together is about ¥25.7 billion (from a council member's question).
• Gyms are also evacuation shelters in disasters, so the plan includes equipment that works during power cuts.
• School kitchens: The 70 schools without air conditioning are to get it within about a year. Until then, staff will get neck-cooling goods and other measures.
• Ideas such as tents for shade in the schoolyard and water coolers to lighten students' water bottles also came up. The city said it will present shade as one heatstroke measure to schools and will consider water coolers using other cities' examples.

Certified child center classes capped at 30

• Classes for age 3 and up at certified child centers: The class size limit was lowered from 35 to 30.
• Counting childcare staff: One specialist with childcare knowledge or experience, such as a physical therapist, can now be counted as a childcare worker. The transitional measure for staffing levels for 3-year-olds runs until the end of March 2028.
• Small-scale childcare for age 3 and up only: Rules were set for capacity and for selecting children when there are more applicants than places. This passed by majority, with the Japanese Communist Party group voting against.

The council also heard that Senzoku Children's Junior College, which has trained childcare workers, announced it will stop taking students from fiscal 2027, and that about 2,000 children a year need allergy care at nursery schools. Better rules do not work without the childcare workers to support them.

Places for children not attending school: rooms at 28 schools

3,451 students at Kawasaki's municipal elementary and junior high schools were not attending school in fiscal 2024. About 30% returned to school, and more than 90% of those who graduated from junior high while not attending went on to high school or similar.

• Separate rooms in school: The "in-school learning support centers (provisional name)," where students can learn safely outside their own class, have expanded to 28 elementary and junior high schools. The goal is to have one at every school.
• Free schools: About 100 municipal school students use private free schools, as far as schools know. Financial support for fees is still being considered while the city studies the situation.
• Health checkups: Of the students absent for 30 days or more, 1,405 had not had their school health checkup, about half of them.

What about after school and the morning?

• Waku Waku Plaza: More children are registering, and it gets crowded at some times. The city is trying a "split system" at Inukura Elementary School that separates children who use it as a place to live their day from children who come to play freely.
• Morning places to stay: In June, the city said it wanted to start a model program at some schools before the summer holidays. Since then, it started at Shin-Ogura Elementary School in Saiwai Ward on July 6, 2026, and the city announced in October that it will also start in Kawasaki and Tama wards (our article on morning places to stay).
• Study rooms for junior high and high school students: Asked about using civic center meeting rooms at night as study rooms, the superintendent said the city will consider it using other cities' examples.

Injuries, ambulances and long bullying investigations

• Injuries and ambulances: The council heard about a case in January 2026 when a child at an elementary school in the city hurt a leg in PE, fell on the way to a clinic without an ambulance being called, and the next day was found to have a broken shin needing surgery. The city said it will sort out how to decide when to call an ambulance and show it to every school as soon as possible.
• Bullying investigations: Five serious bullying cases are being investigated. One has taken six to seven years and one four to five years. The city set up a new investigation and support section in April 2026 and said it will move quickly.
• Teacher shortages: On teachers not being in place at the start of the school year, the city said it will hurry to secure full-time teachers.
• School facilities: 63 schools have only squat-style outdoor toilets, with Kawasaki Ward (16 schools) and Asao Ward (15 schools) furthest behind in switching to Western-style toilets.

The exchanges taken from the minutes are summaries. Check the exact statements in the Kawasaki City Council minutes search system. The original note article includes more council members' opinions and figures that are left out here.