If you are planning to get married and have children in Japan, don't miss this article. Below are 8 subsidies from the government for couples who get married, have children, and raise children in Japan.
1. Current marriage and childbirth rates in Japan
In Japan, there are a series of subsidies and benefits available to people in most stages of life, from birth to old age.
Low birth rate and population aging rate are prominent problems in Japanese society today. The root cause of these problems is that many young people decide not to get married and not have children.
More and more young people choose not to get married or are married but do not want to have children.
According to a survey of the birth rate in the country of Japan conducted by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research of Japan, the main obstacle in marriage for up to 40% of men and women aged 18 Being 34 years old and not married is a financial burden.
As a result, many people (about 22% of men and 16% of women) simply give up on getting married. To help solve these problems, Japan has introduced a series of welfare measures as follows.
2. Policy to support newlyweds to encourage early marriage
To support marriage and childbirth among young people, the Japanese government has launched a regional subsidy program since 2018 to increase the birth rate.
Couples under 34 years old on their wedding day can receive financial support to prepare for marriage and a new life later. A couple with a combined annual income of less than 3.4 million yen (after tax) can receive a subsidy of up to 300,000 yen for buying or renting a house and incidental moving expenses.
Even people who are remarrying are eligible to apply for benefits, as long as they have not received benefits before.
Another point worth mentioning is that the marriage support benefit system is not yet available in all areas across Japan. So far, the system has only been deployed in 257 cities out of a total of 1,724 cities in Japan. For more details, please consult your local government organization.
3. Subsidies for treatment of Infertility
When one or both partners are infertile or have difficulty getting pregnant, treatment such as in vitro fertilization or microfertilization may be required.
At this time, the Japanese government will provide an additional subsidy of 150,000 yen, which can be received twice per year, because health insurance does not cover these amounts in Japan.
4.Pregnancy leave allowance
Japan has a very good system of reproductive support and child welfare. This includes great benefits for new mothers returning to work.
Japan's paid maternity leave is 98 days, including 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after childbirth.
If a new mother's company does not pay leave, she can apply for a subsidy from the government and receive about 2/3 of her salary.
If the company pays an amount, but less than the required amount, the government will make up the shortfall.
5. Take leave to care for your child after giving birth
After maternity leave, couples can continue to take paternity leave. Counts from the end of maternity leave until the child's first birthday.
Mothers who stay at home to take care of their children can still receive monthly benefits from employment insurance of about 67% of salary for the first 180 days and 50% of salary for the remaining time if continued leave.
Stay-at-home fathers can also apply for a grant equivalent to 50% of their initial income under this system.
In addition, the Japanese government also pays a monthly child care subsidy to families with children under 12 years old, as long as the household's annual income is below the threshold (~8 million yen for families without Dependent person). The monthly payment per child is as follows:
- 0 - 3 years old : 15,000 yen/child
- 3 years old to elementary school : 10,000 yen for first child; 10,000 yen for 2nd child; 15,000 yen for 3rd child (or more)
- Junior high school students : 10,000 yen
For example, a father who earns about 8,000 yen a day can receive a benefit of about 1.2 million yen if he takes 10 months off work.
Those with higher salaries can receive a cap of 215,000 yen per month.
6. Subsidy for multiple births to increase birth rate
Mothers in Japan receive an allowance of 420,000 yen after giving birth. For twins, the amount is doubled to 840,000 yen.
This payment is called the Childbirth and Child Care Lump Allowance. Regardless of nationality, people living in Japan have the right to apply for benefits if they:
- Are participating in a health insurance program from the government or employer.
- Pregnancy over 85 days (even if the pregnancy ends due to miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth or abortion)
The grant can be transferred directly to the hospital for upfront costs or can be deposited into an account for reimbursement once the application is approved.
For those enrolled in an employer-provided health insurance plan, the benefit amount may be even larger.
7. Cash benefits to encourage childbirth
Some areas of Japan offer even greater incentives for households with young children. These are usually cash incentives, ranging from tens of thousands to a million yen, depending on the region.
For example, Fukushima-cho in Hokkaido pays its residents an allowance of 50,000 yen for their first child, 200,000 yen for their second child, and 1 million yen for their third child.
In this case, 30% of the amount received in the form of gift vouchers can only be used locally.
You should check with your local government to see if they offer any such benefits.
8.Allowance for children of single parents
In addition to the benefits listed above, there are other benefits available to children raised in single-parent families.
Monthly allowances vary from 40,000 to 60,000 yen for the first child, second child, and third child under 18 years of age.
In addition to the general monthly allowance listed above, school-age children from low-income families can also apply for a school attendance and living expenses allowance to help pay for tuition. and other fees.
In addition, families with disabled children can receive a special dependent allowance of 33,800 yen a month for mild disabilities or 50,750 yen a month for severe disabilities.
9.Bonus for matchmakers?
In addition, some rural areas in Japan have implemented “matchmaking fees”. Nowadays, most young people are not willing to live in rural areas or places far from urban areas.
When they reach the age of independence, many young people choose to leave the countryside for the city, which directly leads to an imbalanced population distribution in Japan and the decline of rural industries in the region.
In rural areas with a shrinking population, it is not easy for single men and women to get married, so some towns offer successful matchmakers bonuses ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 yen.
Take Kosuge village in Yamanashi prefecture near Okutama, Tokyo as an example. The village is located at the source of the Tama River and surrounded by mountains. In this mountain village at an altitude equivalent to the Tokyo Skytree, successful matchmakers who match a young villager with a partner in marriage will receive a 200,000 yen reward from the government, on condition that the couple plans to stay in the village permanently. In other words, getting that bonus might not be as easy as you think!
3 comments