All the public subsidies a Minato family can claim, translated into plain English.
A free, independently-operated guide to 32 public subsidies and benefits available to families living in Minato Ward, Tokyo — covering fertility treatment, pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare.
Each program is summarized in plain language with the amount, eligibility, application timing, and direct links to the official source documents in Japanese. For now, eight core programs have full English summaries; the rest link to the original Japanese pages.
Fertility treatment7 programs
Subsidies for fertility testing, IVF/ICSI advanced medical treatment, egg freezing, and male-factor infertility. Tokyo Metropolitan and Minato Ward layer their support, so combined claims can be substantial.
Pregnancy & childbirth10 programs
Subsidies for prenatal checkups, delivery costs, lump-sum childbirth allowance, painless delivery, and the Tokyo "Baby First" gift program.
Childrearing8 programs
Child allowance, the "018" support payment, child medical care, parental leave benefits, and various postpartum care services.
Childcare (daycare)5 programs
Minato has fully subsidized authorized daycare fees from September 2025, including for the first child of taxed households (ages 0–2). Unauthorized daycare and certified daycare have separate subsidies that often cover most of the difference.
Are foreign residents eligible?Yes — almost all programs
Most childcare-related public benefits in Japan are based on resident registration (住民登録), not nationality. If you are a registered Minato resident with a residence card, you qualify for nearly every program listed on this site.
- National Child Allowance: requires Japanese resident registration; nationality irrelevant
- Minato Child Medical Care: requires Minato resident registration only
- Authorized daycare fees: requires Minato resident registration + childcare needs certification
- Lump-sum childbirth allowance, maternity allowance, sickness allowance (health insurance): requires health insurance enrollment, no nationality test
- Parental leave benefit, post-birth leave benefit (employment insurance): requires Employment Insurance enrollment
- Tokyo Baby First, "018 Support": requires Tokyo resident registration only
- Minato childbirth cost subsidy, welcome gift, postpartum care: requires Minato resident registration
- Fertility subsidies (Tokyo & Minato): residency required, treating clinic must be designated. No nationality limit on residency basis.
- Painless delivery subsidy (Tokyo): requires registration with a Tokyo municipality at the time of pregnancy notification, and continuous Tokyo residency through application. Newcomers in late pregnancy may not meet the residency window.
- Short-stay or tourist visa holders (no resident registration)
- Stays of 3 months or less (resident registration not possible)
- Diplomat or official visa holders (resident registration not applicable)
- Permanent resident, special permanent resident, spouse, child, designated activities, dependent: same as Japanese citizens for most programs
- Engineer/specialist, business manager, intra-company transferee, highly-skilled professional: full eligibility
- Student, researcher, technical intern, specified skilled worker: full eligibility
- Diplomat, official: not eligible (no resident registration)
- Most application forms are in Japanese only. Bring a Japanese-speaking friend, your employer's HR, or use the Minato International Association (港区国際交流協会, +81-3-6440-0233)
- The maternal & child health handbook (母子健康手帳) is available in 9+ languages — request your preferred language at the Health Center
- For health insurance and employment insurance based programs, your employer's HR generally files on your behalf — same as for Japanese employees
- Bring your residence card (在留カード) and resident registration (住民票) for any in-person application
About this portal
This is an independently-operated, unofficial guide to public subsidies for families living in Minato Ward, Tokyo. It is not affiliated with Minato Ward, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, or any health insurance association.
All program details are sourced directly from official documents — official websites, PDF guidelines, and ordinance texts on e-Gov. Each program page links back to the original Japanese sources. For the authoritative answer to any specific case, please contact the issuing organization (Minato Ward, Tokyo, your health insurer, or your employment insurance office).
English coverage is currently partial. Eight core programs have full English summaries; the rest link to the Japanese pages on this same site. We expand English coverage as time permits, starting with programs most relevant to non-Japanese-speaking residents.
If you find any inaccuracy in the English summaries — or have feedback on what to translate next — please contact the operator at saakun.andoh@gmail.com.