Japan City to Give Kids Free Lunches by Taking Money from 100-Year-Olds

It’s sparked a debate by saying it’ll fund the project by ending a 100K yen prize it gives to people who manage to live to age 100.

A city in Gifu Prefecture is jumping on the free lunch bandwagon that’s taken Japan by storm this year. But some people in Japan are questioning how they’re planning to fund it.

Gujō (郡上市) in Gifu is home to around 36,000 people, as well as the popular tourist attraction Gujō Hachiman Castle. The city’s considering a new policy that would see it waive its 4600 yen (USD $30)/month fee for lunch for middle school students. Instead, the city would pick up the tab, a cost of 160,000 yen ($1,051) per child for the three years of middle school.

So far, this change is in line with other free school lunch initiatives proposed in Japan at both the national and local levels. Politicians are lining up behind free school lunch proposals as one way to convince people to have more kids and halt the country’s declining birth rates.

However, Gujō says it’ll fund the initiative by ending its “long-life prize.” This is a program that gives seniors 100,000 yen ($657) if they make it to age 100. The city would also cut the money reserved for its annual Respect for the Aged celebration.