Despite the high employment rate of single mothers in Japan and the relatively low cost of the Child Rearing Allowance as compared to a full income-replacement benefit, the government in 2002 introduced a number of reforms to further limit expenditure.149 These were motivated by continuing growth in the number of recipients. After 2002, the number of Child Rearing Allowance recipients increased further, reaching 956 000 in 2006, but the divorce rate - which is a leading indicator for this benefit caseload - started to fall (Chisa, 2008). Single mothers are one of the groups assisted by welfare offices in cooperation with Hello Work through the Employment Support Programme (see above). Chisa (2008) reports that “As work-related services, the Japanese government is urging local prefectures and cities to establish special job centers and job training benefits for single mothers”.