Child Rearing Allowance Act

The prefectural governor, the mayors of cities (including the heads of special wards; the same applies hereinafter), and the heads of towns and villages that administer a welfare office (meaning an office for welfare prescribed in the Social Welfare Act (Act No. 45 of 1951); the same applies hereinafter) (hereinafter referred to as "prefectural governor, etc.") are to pay Child Rearing Allowance (hereinafter referred to as "the allowance"), according to the categories of cases set out in the following items, to the person prescribed in each such item.

In the case where the mother of a child who falls under any of (a) through (e) has custody of the child: that mother;

A child whose parents have dissolved their marriage;

A child whose father has died;

A child whose father is in a state of disability of a degree of severity specified by Cabinet Order;

A child whose father's life or death is unknown;

Any other child in a condition equivalent to that of those under (a) through (d) who is specified by Cabinet Order;

In the case where the father of a child falling under any of (a) through (e) below has custody of the child and shares a livelihood with the child: that father;

A child whose parents have dissolved their marriage;

A child whose mother has died;

A child whose mother has a disability of a degree of severity specified by the Cabinet Order referred to in (c) of the preceding item;

A child whose mother's life or death is unknown;

Any other child in a condition equivalent to that of those under (a) through (d) who is specified by Cabinet Order;

In the case where a mother does not have custody of a child falling under any of (a) through (e) of item (i), or where there is no mother of a child falling under any of (a) through (e) of that item (excluding a child falling under (b) of that item), and a person other than that mother raises the child (meaning living with the child, having custody of the child and maintaining the child's livelihood; the same applies hereinafter); in the case where a father does not have custody of a child falling under any of (a) through (e) of the preceding item or does not share a livelihood with the child (excluding the case where there is no father), or where there is no father of a child falling under any of (a) through (e) of that item (excluding a child falling under (b) of that item), and a person other than that father raises the child; or in the case where there is neither father nor mother, and a person other than that father and mother raises the child: that person raising the child.

Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, the allowance is not paid for a child where, in the case of the allowance for a mother or person raising the child, the child falls under any of items (i) through (iv) of this paragraph, or, in the case of the allowance for a father, the child falls under any of items (i), (ii), (v) or (vi) of this paragraph.

When the child does not have a domicile in Japan;

When the child has been entrusted to a foster parent prescribed in Article 6-4 of the Child Welfare Act (Act No. 164 of 1947);

When the child shares a livelihood with the father; provided, however, that this does not apply when that person has a disability of a degree of severity specified by Cabinet Order prescribed in paragraph (1), item (i), (c);

When the child is being raised by the spouse of the mother (excluding a father who has a disability of a degree of severity specified by Cabinet Order prescribed in paragraph (1), item (i), (c));

When the child shares a livelihood with the mother; provided, however, that this does not apply when that person has a disability of a degree of severity specified by Cabinet Order prescribed in paragraph (1), item (i), (c);

When the child is being raised by the spouse of the father (excluding a mother who has a disability of a degree of severity specified by Cabinet Order prescribed in paragraph (1), item (i), (c)).

Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the allowance is not paid where, in the case of the allowance for a mother, that mother, in the case of the allowance for a father, that father, or in the case of the allowance for a person raising the child, that person raising the child, does not have a domicile in Japan.

When, for the same child, both the father and the mother fall under the requirements for payment of the allowance, or both the father and a person raising the child fall under the requirements for payment of the allowance, the allowance for that father is not paid for that child.

When, for the same child, both the mother and a person raising the child fall under the requirements for payment of the allowance, the allowance for that person raising the child is not paid for that child.

The allowance is to be paid in units of months, and the amount is 41,100 yen per month.

The amount of the allowance paid to a father, mother or person raising the child who has two or more children who fall under the requirements prescribed in Article 4 and who are in the custody of the father and share a livelihood with him, are in the custody of the mother, or are raised by a person raising the child (hereinafter referred to as "children in custody, etc."), is, notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, the amount prescribed in that paragraph (referred to as the "basic amount" in paragraphs (1) and (2) of the following Article) plus 10,750 yen for each child in custody, etc. other than one of the children in custody, etc.

With respect to the basic amount, when the annual average national consumer price index compiled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (hereinafter referred to as the "price index") comes to exceed or fall below the price index of 1993 (where a measure to revise the basic amount under this paragraph has been taken, the year preceding the year in which the most recent such measure was taken), the basic amount on or after April of the following year is revised on the basis of the ratio of that rise or fall.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis to the amount added to the basic amount under paragraph (2) of the preceding Article. In this case, the term "1993" in the preceding paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "2023".

The measures for revising the amount of the allowance under the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs are specified by Cabinet Order.

A person who falls under the requirements for payment of the allowance (hereinafter referred to as an "eligible recipient"), when seeking to receive payment of the allowance, must obtain certification from the prefectural governor, etc. as to the person's eligibility and the amount of the allowance.

Where a person who has obtained the certification under the preceding paragraph, after ceasing to fall under the requirements for payment of the allowance, again comes to fall under those requirements, the same applies as under that paragraph when the person seeks to receive payment of the allowance for the period after coming to fall under them.

Payment of the allowance begins in the month following the month that includes the day on which the eligible recipient made the claim for certification under the preceding Article (referred to as the "first month of payment" in Article 13-3, paragraph (1)) and ends in the month that includes the day on which the grounds for paying the allowance ceased to exist.

Where an eligible recipient was unable to make the claim for certification under the preceding Article due to a disaster or other unavoidable reason, and makes the claim within 15 days after that reason ceased to exist, payment of the allowance begins, notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, in the month following the month that includes the day on which the eligible recipient became unable to make the claim for certification due to the unavoidable reason.

The allowance is paid in six installments, in January, March, May, July, September and November of each year, for the portion up to the month preceding each of them. However, allowance that should have been paid in the previous payment month, or allowance for the period in the case where the grounds for payment have ceased to exist, are to be paid even in a month that is not that payment month.

With respect to a person receiving payment of the allowance, the revision of the amount of the allowance in the case where the person newly comes to have a child in custody, etc. is made from the month following the month that includes the day on which the person made a claim for certification for the revised amount.

The provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the revision under the preceding paragraph.

With respect to a person receiving payment of the allowance, the revision of the amount of the allowance in the case where the number of children in custody, etc. has decreased is made from the month following the month that includes the day of the decrease.