園児の送迎バス「安全装置」４月から義務化も設置進まず…福岡県内の補助金申請はわずか６か所

Following a series of accidents in which kindergarten children were left behind and killed on shuttle buses, the installation of safety devices on shuttle buses became mandatory from April. However, the government only released a list of safety devices that comply with the guidelines in late January, and due to the semiconductor shortage, installation has not progressed as expected. ◆ Kindergartens that Introduced Safety Devices in March This kindergarten is located in Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City. Mioko Komatsu, teacher at Fukuoka Futaba Elementary School Kindergarten, said, "When the engine is turned off, a buzzer sounds, so we move to the back of the bus while checking to see if there are any children. We press the button to stop the bell. We go back and check to see if there are any children, then go back again." Safety devices to prevent children from being left behind were introduced in March. Following fatal accidents involving children being left behind on shuttle buses in Nakama City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and Shizuoka Prefecture, the government made the installation of safety devices mandatory from April. If devices complying with the national guidelines are installed, the government will provide subsidies of up to 175,000 yen per bus. ◆Only Six Kindergartens Applied for Subsidies Minister of State for Special Missions, Cabinet Office, Masanobu Ogura, said, "By taking thorough measures this time, I believe we can create a system that will prevent similar accidents from happening again." However, implementation has not progressed as expected. According to Fukuoka Prefecture, only six kindergartens in the prefecture have applied for subsidies. Even this kindergarten, which introduced the devices in March, says it faced various hurdles before installing them. Yamamura Takashi, Fukuoka Futaba Gakuen Educational Corporation, said, "After the list of devices complying with the guidelines was published, the schedule was extremely tight, especially with the subsidy involved, and we had to work very quickly to meet the deadline." ◆The national list was published in late January... According to a kindergarten representative, the national government published a list of safety devices that comply with the guidelines in late January of this year. Fukuoka Prefecture only notified them of the subsidy in February, and applications had to be completed within just two weeks in order to receive the subsidy within the fiscal year. Furthermore, there were few devices that met the guidelines to begin with, and product production was lagging behind due to factors such as semiconductor shortages, so it was unclear until the very end whether they would be able to install them in time for April. Yamamura Takashi of Fukuoka Futaba Gakuen Educational Corporation said, "We took action after the safety device list was published, but even at that point, manufacturers were receiving a large number of inquiries, and we were in a situation where we didn't know until the very end whether we would be able to get the equipment." ◆The nursery school that didn't make it in time: This nursery school is located in Kawasaki Town. Although they contacted the equipment sales company to purchase the equipment in late February, it was too late for the April installation. Watanabe Sachiko, Director of Sumire Nursery School, said, "We got a quote once, but they had a lot of orders and it was overwhelming, so we thought it would be better to move quickly, as it would provide peace of mind for both children and parents, and we thought we were moving quickly." The equipment may not arrive at the nursery until June, so until then, they plan to thoroughly check the number of people attending and use buzzers and other measures. Sumire Nursery School Director Sachiko Watanabe said, "We wanted to install the devices before it got too hot, so we're going to be thorough until the safety devices arrive, and we'd like to work together to further improve our safety management system." The government is imposing a one-year transitional period before making the installation of safety devices mandatory, so even if the devices are not installed, no penalties will be imposed this fiscal year. However, the government is urging installation by June when temperatures rise, saying, "The number of products that comply with the guidelines is increasing, and we expect the devices to be distributed to all nurseries by summer."