How an Anonymous Blog Went Viral and Forced Japan's Abe to Respond

  • Anonymous blog post spurs parliament debate, parent protests
  • Abe pledges to offer remedies ahead of summer elections

Protesters seek an increase in the number of nursery schools in Tokyo on March 5.

Photographer: The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images
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An anonymous Japanese blogger’s tirade about failing to secure a daycare place for her child has spurred Prime Minister Shinzo Abe into action.

In a Feb. 15 blog post titled "I couldn’t get daycare -- die Japan!!!" a person identifying as a mother said she was preparing to quit her job as she had nowhere to leave her child. "So what am I supposed to do now?" she wrote using unusually coarse language in the post shared about 50,000 times on social media. "Give me a damn break Japan."