"Raising a Child Through High School Costs Over 200 Million Won"...Most Expenses Go to Education Despite Government Support

[Financial News] A recent survey in Japan found that raising one child through the third year of high school costs approximately 200 million won.

According to The Yomiuri Shimbun on the 19th, the National Center for Child Health and Development (NCCHD), under the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), surveyed 4,166 women with their first child last November. The survey asked about annual expenses for clothing, meals, medical care, and other categories. Over 18 years, the average cost of raising a child was found to be 21.72 million yen (about 204.98 million won).
Annual costs by age group were as follows: for preschoolers, 890,000 to 1.1 million yen (about 8.4 to 10.39 million won); elementary school students, 1.14 to 1.31 million yen (about 10.76 to 12.37 million won); middle school students, 1.56 to 1.91 million yen (about 14.73 to 18.03 million won); and high school students, 1.81 to 2.31 million yen (about 17.09 to 21.82 million won).
The highest annual cost was recorded in the first year of high school at 2.31 million yen (about 21.82 million won), while the lowest was at age two, with 890,000 yen (about 8.4 million won).
The total cost over 15 years, up to the third year of middle school, was 16.32 million yen (about 154.15 million won), an increase of 190,000 yen (about 1.79 million won) compared to the Cabinet Office's 2009 survey.
By category, food expenses were the highest at 7.12 million yen, followed by savings and insurance at 3.97 million yen, and daily necessities at 3.07 million yen. Education expenses for school education amounted to 2.35 million yen, which was higher than out-of-school private education expenses at 2.05 million yen. The combined cost of public and private education over 18 years was around 40 million won.
Compared to the 2009 survey, categories such as food, clothing, daily necessities, and mobile phone expenses increased, while medical, childcare, and education expenses actually decreased.
The report interpreted that while living expenses reflected inflation, education and medical costs appear to have decreased due to increased support from the government and local authorities.

moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter