Japan Support Guide
This list covers national programs and selected programs in Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi across five areas: children and family, medical costs, work and unemployment, housing and living, and support for business owners. Eligibility rules differ by program.
Japan's Child Allowance, known as Jidou Teate, is a cash benefit for people raising children from birth through the first March 31 after the child turns 18. The amount is not a flat rate — it depends on the child's age and whether they are the third or later child in the family. Children living overseas are covered only if they meet specific exception conditions, such as studying abroad.
The childbirth lump-sum benefit (出産育児一時金) is a payment from Japan's public health insurance system, available to people who are enrolled in that insurance at the time of childbirth. As of the review date, the amount is generally 500,000 yen per child, though it does not make delivery completely free.
The Pregnancy Support Benefit (妊婦のための支援給付) is a statutory cash benefit and consultation support program for pregnant residents of Japan. Payment is made in two stages: an initial amount after certification, followed by an additional amount based on the number of fetuses once that is reported. The program became a statutory system starting in fiscal year 2025 (Reiwa 7), and the fiscal year 2026 (Reiwa 8) implementation guidelines are published by the Children and Families Agency.
018 Support (018サポート in Japanese) is a cash benefit created independently by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for children living in Tokyo. It covers children from birth until the first March 31 after they turn 18, provided they generally have residency within Tokyo, and there is no household income limit. A foreign child's eligibility is not determined by nationality alone; the same age and Tokyo-residency requirements apply. The program is continuing in fiscal year 2026.
The Tokyo Childbirth Pain-Relief Cost Subsidy (東京都無痛分娩費用助成) is a Tokyo Metropolitan Government program that helps cover part of the cost of childbirth using the anesthesia method Tokyo designates, for births on or after October 1, 2025 (Reiwa 7), at a hospital listed on Tokyo's current list of designated medical institutions. If you had planned pain-relief childbirth using an anesthesia method designated by Tokyo on or after that date but actually gave birth on or before September 30, 2025, you may still qualify for the birth-date requirement when required documents confirm the plan and the planned date is recognized as medically appropriate. Applicants must also meet residency and pregnancy-notification requirements, and the list of designated hospitals is updated periodically.
The High-Cost Medical Expense Benefit (高額療養費制度) is a public health insurance benefit that reduces the out-of-pocket cost of insured medical treatment once your monthly payment exceeds a cap based on age and income. It applies to people enrolled in Japan's public health insurance system. This article reflects the system as revised in August 2026, with a further review scheduled for August 2027.
The Sickness and Injury Allowance (傷病手当金) is a cash benefit paid through Japan's employee health insurance system. It is not a benefit shared by all members of municipal National Health Insurance. It supports employees who cannot work because of a non-work-related illness or injury, replacing part of their income while they recover. Because eligibility and amounts depend on individual circumstances, this article explains the main conditions and where to confirm details officially.
Jiritsu Shien Iryo (Seishin Tsuin Iryo), or self-support medical care for psychiatric outpatients, is a public medical-cost support scheme that reduces the out-of-pocket cost of outpatient treatment for people who need ongoing care for a mental illness, including epilepsy. You submit your application through your local municipal (city/town/ward) office, but approval and the certificate are issued by the prefecture or designated city with authority over the program; a diagnosis alone does not automatically qualify you.
Osaka City's child medical expense subsidy (こども医療費助成制度) reduces, but does not eliminate, the out-of-pocket cost of insured medical care for children living in Osaka City. Applicants still pay up to ¥500 per day at each institution, capped at ¥2,500 combined per month. The household income limit was abolished starting April 2024.
Nagoya's child medical expense subsidy (名古屋市子ども医療費助成制度) reduces the insured copayment for children who live in Nagoya City and are enrolled in health insurance, up to the end of the fiscal year they turn 18. There is no income limit, but children eligible for disability medical assistance or single-parent family medical assistance, those receiving livelihood protection, and those in a child welfare facility are not eligible for this subsidy.
Japan's basic unemployment allowance (kihon teate) is an employment-insurance benefit paid to people who had a qualifying insured period before leaving their job and who are actively looking for work but have not yet found it. Simply resigning does not automatically qualify you; you must be in an actual state of unemployment as defined by the program. Exact eligibility and amounts depend on individual circumstances, so the final confirmation always happens at Hello Work.
Japan's Job Seeker Support Program (求職者支援制度) lets people who are not employment-insurance policyholders or eligible for unemployment benefits take vocational training through Hello Work at no cost. A related training benefit of JPY100,000 per month is also available, but only to applicants who separately meet a defined set of conditions.
The Education and Training Benefit (教育訓練給付金) pays part of the cost of a designated course to people currently or previously covered by employment insurance who meet the insured-period and other requirements. There are three categories—Specialized Practical, Specific General, and General—each with different payment rates, caps, and payment timing. Confirm your course and entitlement before enrolling.
The Older Job Seeker Benefit (高年齢求職者給付金) is a lump-sum payment under Japan's employment insurance system for insured workers age 65 or older who leave their job. Eligibility is not automatic; it depends on the insured period, active job-seeking, and formal registration and unemployment recognition at Hello Work.
The Re-employment Allowance (再就職手当) is an employment-insurance job-promotion benefit for people whose Basic Allowance eligibility has been determined and who start a new job or a business early. For foreign workers, nationality alone does not decide the outcome; each applicable condition, including the remaining benefit days and the employment conditions, is checked. Because the employment route and the self-employment route are checked against different conditions, first identify whether the employment route or the self-employment route applies to your situation, and then read the conditions for that route.
The Housing Security Benefit (住居確保給付金) supports rent for the household's main livelihood supporter who is in financial hardship and has lost housing or is at risk of losing it. It covers people who left a job or closed a business, and people whose work opportunities fell through neither their own fault nor their own choice and whose employment situation became equivalent to job separation or business closure. Foreign residents may qualify, but they must meet the applicable household-income, financial-asset and job-search requirements.
Foreign nationals are included in the group of people requiring housing consideration. Foreign residents must still find registered housing whose accepted group includes foreign residents. After finding a listing, read that dwelling's registration details and check the local authority's subsidy information separately.
A housing support corporation is an organization designated by a prefectural governor to help people requiring housing consideration enter private rental housing more smoothly. Under Japan's Housing Safety Net system, foreign nationals are included among people requiring housing consideration, but the people actually served, service area, duties and service languages differ by corporation. Foreign residents should use MLIT's Japanese-language list to identify candidates for their area and then confirm the current details directly with each corporation.
Osaka prefectural housing is public rental housing for households in housing need; it is not a cash rent subsidy. Foreign residents may apply when they fall within a stated residence-status category and meet every common requirement and every requirement for the application category they use. Those requirements include the household's calculated monthly income, based on the income of all intended occupants, and the applicant's residence or employment in Osaka Prefecture. Application is followed by qualification review and the applicable selection process, such as a public lottery, so meeting one condition does not guarantee housing.
Aichi prefectural housing is public rental housing for people who meet the applicable eligibility rules and apply for a dwelling that is being recruited; it is not a cash rent subsidy. Foreign residents may apply when they meet the qualifications for the recruitment category they use, but foreign nationality or use of multilingual support does not by itself provide eligibility or housing. Regular and newly built housing recruitment use a lottery. Rolling recruitment is generally handled in application order, and every route includes a qualification review for the relevant category.
The Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Project, officially 外国人起業活動促進事業（スタートアップビザ） in Japanese, is a national framework under which foreign entrepreneurs prepare a startup in an approved implementing body's target area. It is not a nationwide one-stop application. The applicant first submits the startup-preparation plan to the body responsible for the intended area. After that body's confirmation, a regional immigration bureau separately examines residence status. Plan confirmation and its certificate do not guarantee immigration permission, renewal, or business success.
The Tokyo Startup Visa, officially 東京都スタートアップビザ（外国人起業活動促進事業）, is for foreign entrepreneurs preparing a new business and office in Tokyo while residing in Japan during preparation. Tokyo and Business Development Center TOKYO confirm the startup-preparation plan and issue the certificate; the regional immigration bureau separately examines the grant or renewal of Designated Activities. This is not a cash grant, and Tokyo's certificate does not guarantee residence status, renewal, or business success.
The Osaka City Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Project, officially called 大阪市外国人起業活動促進事業 in Japanese, allows Osaka City to confirm a startup-preparation plan before the Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau separately examines residence status. Foreign entrepreneurs prepare the business and establish its office in Osaka City while residing in Japan during preparation. The Osaka Startup Visa is not cash support, and a city certificate does not guarantee residence status, renewal, or business success.
The Aichi Prefecture Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Program, 外国人起業活動促進事業 in Japanese, allows Aichi Prefecture to confirm a startup-preparation plan before the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau separately examines residence status. It is for foreign entrepreneurs starting an IT business in Aichi or a business that aims for high growth through innovative technology or services; the office is in Aichi Prefecture, while the applicant resides in Japan during preparation. The Aichi Startup Visa is not a cash grant, and prefectural confirmation does not guarantee residence status, renewal, or business success.
The Nagoya City Business Expansion Promotion Subsidy, officially 名古屋市企業進出促進補助金, supports part of the office rent when an out-of-city ICT company, foreign-owned company, startup company, or growth company meets its category definition and opens its first Nagoya business office in leased premises. It is not a Startup Visa or a startup grant for a foreign individual. Identify the company category and verify the floor area, staff stationed at opening, eligible rent, and filing order before signing a lease.