Reasons why families love raising children in Japan

I saw an article recently on BBC Travel which was titled "The Five Countries Emigrating Families Love." The article noted that while people move abroad for a myriad of reasons, there are some extra considerations that need to be made when there are children in the equation. The list of five countries included Japan as one of them, and the points made on why living here is great for kids echoed a lot of my own personal thoughts.

Clean water, fresh air, and overall safety were some of the key points mentioned.

One of the first points mentioned in the article was UNICEF's Worlds of Influence study, which covers what shapes children's wellbeing in wealthy countries. Japan snagged top spot in the physical health category, which centers around child mortality rates and the percentage of children who are overweight or obese. I will say that here, I see a lot more children walking or cycling to school than I would in my home country. I also think there's a lot more outdoor play that takes place – certainly here in the countryside, anyway – and in part I think that's due to the overall feeling of safety that comes with life in Japan compared to many other nations.

Another UNICEF report cited in the article looked at children's environments and how those impact overall wellbeing. Japan came second overall in that category, scoring highly for things like low levels of pollution (tying with Finland in that section), clean water, and low numbers of traffic accidents. 

The safety here is probably our biggest incentive to stay in Japan as long as we can while our children are young. Even though I come from quite a safe country myself, I do notice things I can do here that I simply couldn't do back home -- like leave my belongings on a cafe table while I take my kids to use the restroom, for instance. Little things like that make it a lot more stress-free to raise children here, and that's why even though my husband and I earn less here than we could in our respective home countries, it's just a lot nicer to raise our children here overall. I'd also say the overall cost of living is less here than it is in my home country, which is another factor that solidifies our choice of staying here.

Are there any key reasons why you opt to raise your children here in Japan over your home country?