TOKYO -- Japan will spend roughly 800 billion yen ($7.01 billion) to expand its free preschool program, part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to increase human resources investment.
The expansion will render all 3- to 5-year-olds eligible for assistance, regardless of their parents' income, making preschools free for an additional 2 million children. Currently, 2.5 million children in that age group attend either nursery school or kindergarten in Japan.
