The government is planning to create a working group this autumn to strengthen measures to tackle child poverty, sources familiar with the matter said Monday.
The group, to be set up under a subcommittee of the children and families council, which advises the prime minister, will examine and analyze current efforts such as local governments' assistance for children's cafeterias and discuss ways to redouble such efforts, the sources said.
It will try to reinforce measures to help children study, live and find comfortable places under the revised law to promote efforts toward eliminating child poverty by gathering opinions from local governments, they said.
Experts in the subcommittee to support poor children and single-parent households will serve as members of the working group. They will also be tasked to review local governments' state-subsidized projects, if necessary.
In addition, the council is considering setting up a separate working group for helping single-parent families in the wake of a Civil Code revision that allows post-divorce joint custody from fiscal 2026, informed sources said.
It will specifically discuss how to secure child-support payments and prevent domestic violence.