Prime Minister Takaichi Attends Care Worker Workplace Awards
Overview
On August 31, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi attended the FY2026 Prime Minister’s Award and Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Award for Creating Supportive Workplace Environments for Care Workers at the Prime Minister’s Office. She praised the award recipients’ efforts and highlighted “never give up” and “smiles” as memorable words, stating that technology is important for building a society where care workers do not have to give up their jobs and users’ families do not have to give up their careers or time with their families. She also outlined support in response to the record-high number of care business bankruptcies, productivity improvements based on amended laws including the Social Welfare Act, support for introducing care technology and creating a collection of examples, and consideration of support and improved treatment toward the FY2027 revision of care fees.
Key points
- She praised the award recipients’ efforts and introduced “never give up” and “smiles” as memorable words.
- She expressed support for using technology to build a society where care workers do not have to give up their jobs and users’ families do not have to give up their careers or time with their families.
- She said that, in response to the record-high number of care business bankruptcies, the government had undertaken efforts including bringing forward the revision of care fees.
- She outlined future support policies including productivity improvements, the introduction of care technology, the creation of a collection of examples, and improved treatment.
Overview
On August 31, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi attended the FY2026 Prime Minister’s Award and Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Award for Creating Supportive Workplace Environments for Care Workers at the Prime Minister’s Office and delivered closing remarks.
The Prime Minister reflected on her experiences as a young carer and caring for her parents, saying that support from those around her and experts had enabled her to move forward without giving up. She then expressed hopes for efforts using technology to build a society where care workers do not have to give up their jobs and users’ families do not have to give up their careers or time with their families.
Impact
Prime Minister Takaichi said that many members of the public would continue to rely on care professionals and that she would continue providing support in cooperation with the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.
She explained that the enactment of amended laws including the Social Welfare Act makes “efforts such as productivity improvements” the responsibilities of the national government and prefectures.
Details
Prime Minister Takaichi described her experience undertaking demonstration projects to apply ICT technology in care settings since 2014, when she was serving as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. She also said that, after becoming Prime Minister, she undertook efforts including bringing forward the revision of care fees and providing support through supplementary budgets in response to the record-high number of care business bankruptcies.
Going forward, the government will advance “support for introducing care technology” based on the “Productivity Investment Promotion Plan” and create an “easy-to-understand collection of examples” drawing on the award recipients’ cases. It will also provide “demonstration,” “introduction,” and “accompanying” support toward the “FY2027 revision of care fees” and consider “appropriate evaluation of efforts” together with “improved treatment for care workers.”