Japan Child Allowance After October 2024: No Income Cap and Up to ¥30,000/Month

Japan's child allowance (児童手当) now has no income cap, extends to age 18, and pays up to ¥30,000/month for the third child. Apply within 15 days of birth or lose the first month.

Bottom line: Since October 2024, Japan's child allowance (児童手当) has no income cap — every family qualifies. Payments now extend until age 18, and the third-child bonus jumped to ¥30,000/month. Apply within 15 days of your baby's birth or you lose the first month's payment.

Information current as of March 2026 based on the Children and Families Agency (こども家庭庁) guidelines. For a full pregnancy-to-childcare overview, see our complete guide to having a baby in Japan.

What changed in October 2024

The October 2024 reform was the biggest expansion of Japan's child allowance since the system was created. Here's what changed:

Item	Before October 2024	After October 2024
Income cap	Yes — high earners got reduced or zero payments	Abolished — all families receive full amount
Age limit	Until end of junior high (age 15)	Until end of high school (age 18)
Third child bonus	¥15,000/month	¥30,000/month
"Third child" counting	Counted only until oldest child turns 18	Counted until oldest child turns 22
Application for current recipients	—	Automatic for most (no reapplication needed)
Payment frequency	3 times/year (Feb, Jun, Oct)	6 times/year (every other month)

How much you receive

Child's age	Monthly amount	Annual total
0–2 years old	¥15,000	¥180,000
3 years old – elementary school	¥10,000	¥120,000
Junior high school (12–15)	¥10,000	¥120,000
High school (15–18)	¥10,000	¥120,000
Third child or later (any age)	¥30,000	¥360,000

Example: A family with three children (ages 1, 5, and 10) receives: ¥30,000 (third child, age 1) + ¥30,000 (third child, age 5) + ¥30,000 (third child, age 10) = ¥90,000/month.

Wait — all three get the ¥30,000? Yes. Under the new rules, if a family has three or more children under 22, each child receives ¥30,000/month regardless of age.

How "third child" is counted

This is the part that confuses many people. Before October 2024, once the oldest child turned 18, they "dropped out" of the count — so a family with three kids could lose their "third child" bonus when the oldest turned 18. The new rule counts children until age 22 (specifically, until the end of the fiscal year when they turn 22). This means:

A 21-year-old university student still counts as "child 1" for the purpose of determining whether the younger siblings qualify as "third child"
The 22-year-old age limit only matters for counting — the allowance payment itself ends at age 18

Who can apply

The parent who is the primary earner or the resident parent
Must live in Japan and be registered at a municipal address (住民登録)
Foreign nationals are eligible — as long as you have a valid residence card (在留カード) and are registered in the resident register (住民票)
The child must live in Japan (exceptions for children studying abroad temporarily)

How to apply for a newborn

Apply at the children's welfare counter (子育て支援窓口 / こども関連窓口) of your ward office (区役所 / 市役所). You can do this at the same visit when you submit the birth notification (出生届).

What to bring:

児童手当認定請求書 (jidou teate nintei seikyuusho) — the application form (available at the counter)
Applicant's residence card (在留カード)
Applicant's health insurance card
Applicant's bank account information (passbook or card — the payment account must be in the applicant's name)
Applicant's My Number card or notification card
Spouse's My Number

What to say at the counter: 児童手当の申請をしたいです (Jidou teate no shinsei o shitai desu) — I'd like to apply for child allowance.

The 15-day rule: don't miss it

This is the most critical deadline. Under the 15-day special provision (15日特例), if you apply within 15 days of the event (birth, move-in, etc.), the allowance is calculated from the month of that event.

Example:

Baby born March 25 → apply by April 8 → allowance starts from March
Baby born March 25 → apply on April 10 (16 days later) → allowance starts from April → you lose March's payment (¥15,000)

The 15-day count starts from the day after the event. If the 15th day falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline extends to the next business day.

Do it on the same day as the 出生届. The easiest way to never miss this deadline is to apply for 児童手当 at the exact same ward office visit when you file the birth notification. Bring your bank account info and you're set.

Payment schedule

Payments are made every other month, deposited into your bank account:

Payment month	Covers
February	December–January
April	February–March
June	April–May
August	June–July
October	August–September
December	October–November

The exact payment date varies by municipality — typically around the 10th–15th of the payment month.

If you move to a different city

Child allowance is paid by the municipality where you live. If you move, you must:

File a 消滅届 (shoumetsu todoke) at your old ward office — "extinguishment notification" to stop payments there
File a new 認定請求書 (nintei seikyuusho) at your new ward office within 15 days of moving in

If you miss the 15-day window at the new city, you lose the month's payment. Don't wait — do it the same day you file your 転入届 (move-in notification).

If navigating the ward office paperwork in Japanese feels daunting, especially with a newborn, that's exactly why I built LO-PAL. Post your question for free and a local Japanese person can help you prepare documents, explain the forms, or go with you to the ward office.

Annual status report (現況届)

Previously, you had to submit an annual status report (現況届 / genkyou todoke) every June to continue receiving payments. Since 2022, this has been largely abolished for most recipients — the municipality checks your status automatically via the resident register and tax records. However, some cases still require a manual submission (e.g., if you're divorced, if the child lives abroad). If required, you'll receive a notification letter.

Get Help Applying at the Ward Office

The child allowance application is straightforward — but everything is in Japanese, and missing the 15-day deadline costs you real money. Post a task on LO-PAL for free: a local helper can fill out the forms with you, accompany you to the ward office, and make sure you get every yen you're entitled to. You only pay when you accept task help.