On March 17^th, 2021, MHLW and MEXT jointly held the first meeting of the "Project Team to Link Welfare, Long-term Care, Medical Care, and Education Support for Young Carers". A young carer is someone under 18 years old who is engaged in practical tasks at home, such as cooking, housework, and shopping, or looks after someone in their family. They often bear heavy responsibilities and burdens that are not commensurate with their age or stage of growth. Though being a young carer can have a major impact on factors that are important to the process of growing up, most cases are hidden from society as they involve sensitive issues within the family, and some young carers or their families do not realize that they need external support with their situation.

The abovementioned team was created to deliberate the necessary measures for local governments to support those young carers in a timely manner through cross-sectoral collaboration among the welfare, long-term care, medical, and education departments. The meeting was co-chaired by the Deputy Ministers of both Ministries, and attended by managerial level staff from related divisions. For further information, please visit the following link. (Japanese only): https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/young-carer-pt-01-shiryou.html