Okinawa City introduces childcare portal OKIIKU

Okinawa City has started a childcare support portal site “OKIIKU” offering information about 140 childcare facilities in the city.

Using the site, residents can search for nursery schools, day care centers, and after-school facilities within the city. According to Okinawa City officials, Naha and Nishihara already had started similar childcare support portals, and Okinawa City is the third municipality in the prefecture to start the service.

People searching for a childcare facility can choose the type of facility, select upper and lower limits for the cost, and the age group of the child. Options include early time care and school buses.

The site has additional content like, “Childcare support menu” that introduces childcare support information, how to enroll a child in a childcare facility, and special advice regarding childcare. A fee simulation and a list of parks to play with your child are also useful.

According to Okinawa City Childcare Division, there were 360 children on waiting lists to get into public nursery schools in Okinawa City as of April 2016, which is second most after Naha in Okinawa. The manager of the division said, “Now we have all the information gathered in one site, and I hope it would make it easier for residents to get information about childcare.”