Renewing Child Allowances in Japan

Jun 20, 2023

Renewing Child Allowances in Japan

With Japan’s birthrate in rapid decline, the government of Japan has stepped in to offer a monthly allowance per child to reduce the economic burden placed on families raising young children and encourage the growth of families. This article relates to renewing this child allowance, which must be done annually.

Please see this article on the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare website to learn more about the child allowance program.

www.mhlw.go.jp/english/topics/child-support

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Recipients of Child Allowances, it is time to report!

Child Allowances are provided for people raising children who have not yet finished junior high school (available until March 31 after the child turns 15 years old). Please note that both the parent and the child must be registered as residents in Japan to apply.

Please fill out all forms and send all requested documents by June 30 of the same year to ensure there is no stoppage of payment, as recipients who fail to submit all documents mentioned above will no longer be able to receive the allowances until the submission is successfully completed.

Documents to submit:

1.  Copy of the recipient’s health insurance card *Not your child’s
2. Passport copies (ID and the arrival stamp pages) only if you were residing overseas as of January 1st last year

In cases where the recipient and the child/family members live separately, you will need these additional documents:  

1. Residence certificate (住民票 Juminhyo) of all family members who live separately from the recipient *My number must be included
2. Separate custody petition (申立書 Moushitatesho)

*Forms of Genkyo Todoke vary from area to area, and the Separate custody petition might be in Genkyo Todoke or a separate sheet.

If you receive your Genkyo Todoke in Japanese, which is, in fact, the most common, please use our sample (English) to help you quickly fill it out. Using Roman letters is also okay for those who cannot write Kanji and Katakana. On the front of the enclosed return envelope you will receive, please write your address and name and use an 84 yen post stamp. On the back, please tick the top box. The post stamp can be purchased at your local post office or convenience store.

You can use the examples below to show you how to complete the documents. They are from multiple places, but they should all be roughly similar to the documents your local area sends out.

On the front of the enclosed return envelope you receive, please write your address and name and use an 84 yen post stamp.

On the back, please tick the top box. The post stamp can be purchased at your local post office or convenience store.

 

 

Cover image by Shirish Mulmuley (Flickr: 20121028 saanvi051) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons