According to a report by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of children waiting to get into nursery schools throughout Japan has fallen for the third straight year. Nationwide, the number of students on waiting lists stands at 22,741, but the trend in Kyushu is operating in reverse. The number of wait-listed children in Kyushu is 2,053, nearly 10% of the national total, and it has been on the rise for five years. With 695 children on waiting lists, Fukuoka ranks the second worst in the nation after Setagaya Ward, Tokyo. According to the Ministry, “nursery schools construction in densely populated urban areas has not caught up with met up with increases in population”. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 9/13
