daycare center

Gov't panel OKs expanded eligibility of women with children to use daycare centers

TOKYO —
A government panel set up by the labor ministry on Wednesday gave approval to expanding the eligibility of women with children to use daycare centers from fiscal 2015 as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policy to make it easier for working women.
The panel recommended setting the minimum number of work hours for mothers eligible to use daycare centers to between 48 hours and 64 hours per month, Sankei Shimbun reported.
Currently, use of daycare centers is limited to full-time working women and other women with special circumstances, such as those who are taking care of sick relatives or who have a disability.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/govt-panel-oks-expanded-eligibility-of-women-with-children-to-use-daycare-centers

見出しにある，”day care center”の意味をWisdom英和辞典（第三版）』（三省堂）で調べると「保育所，託児施設」という意味がありました。”kindergarten”は5歳の子が通い（米国），”day care center”のほうは「乳児，幼児」が対象であるという違いがあります。
従来は正規雇用者しか利用できなかったday care center，が”part time”や仕事を探している状況の方でも利用できるようになるそうです。女性の社会進出が目覚ましい今日ではとてもよい政策であると思いました。（Ume）