Child Rearing Allowance Act

The purpose of this Act is to pay Child Rearing Allowance for children who do not share a livelihood with their father or mother, in order to contribute to the stability of life and the promotion of self-reliance of the households in which those children are raised, and thereby to promote the welfare of children.

①Child Rearing Allowance is paid for the purpose of contributing to the sound mental and physical growth of children, and a person who receives it must use it in accordance with that purpose.

②A father or mother who receives payment of Child Rearing Allowance must voluntarily strive for self-reliance and endeavor to stabilize and improve the life of the household.

③Payment of Child Rearing Allowance does not alter the degree or content of the duty of support that parents, etc. who have dissolved their marriage are to perform toward their children.

①In this Act, "child" means a person who is in the period up to the first March 31 on or after the day on which the person reaches the age of 18, or a person under 20 years of age who is in a state of disability of a degree of severity specified by Cabinet Order.

②In this Act, "public pension benefit" means the benefits set out in the following items.

③In this Act, "marriage" is to include cases where a notification of marriage has not been filed but the circumstances are equivalent to a de facto marital relationship, "spouse" is to include a person who has not filed a notification of marriage but is in circumstances equivalent to a de facto marital relationship, and "father" is to include a person who, at the time the mother conceived the child, had not filed a notification of marriage but was in circumstances equivalent to a de facto marital relationship with the mother.

①The 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.

②Notwithstanding 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.

③Notwithstanding 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.

①When, 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.

②When, 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.

①The allowance is to be paid in units of months, and the amount is 41,100 yen per month.

②The 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.

①With 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.

②The 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".

③The measures for revising the amount of the allowance under the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs are specified by Cabinet Order.

①A 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.

②Where 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.

①Payment 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.

②Where 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.

③The 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.

①With 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.

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

③With 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.

①If the previous year's income of an eligible recipient (excluding a person raising a child who falls under Article 4, paragraph (1), item (i), (b) or (d) and has no mother, a child who falls under item (ii), (b) or (d) of that paragraph and has no father, or any other child specified by Cabinet Order; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) is the amount specified by Cabinet Order or more, according to the presence and number of the spouse in the same household and dependents of that person prescribed in the Income Tax Act (Act No. 33 of 1965) (hereinafter referred to as "dependents and similar persons") and of children who are not dependents and similar persons of that eligible recipient but whom that eligible recipient supported as of December 31 of the previous year, the allowance is not paid, in whole or in part, from November of that year to October of the following year, as provided by Cabinet Order.

②Where the eligible recipient is a mother and a child in her custody has received from the father payment of the expenses necessary for raising that child, or where the eligible recipient is a father and a child in his custody and sharing a livelihood with him has received from the mother payment of the expenses necessary for raising that child, the amount of income under the preceding paragraph is to be calculated, as provided by Cabinet Order, by deeming the eligible recipient to have received payment of those expenses.

If the previous year's income of an eligible recipient (limited to a person raising the child prescribed in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article; the same applies hereinafter in this Article) is the amount specified by Cabinet Order or more, according to the presence and number of dependents and similar persons of that person and of children who are not dependents and similar persons of that eligible recipient but whom that eligible recipient supported as of December 31 of the previous year, the allowance is not paid from November of that year to October of the following year.

If the previous year's income of the spouse of a father or mother, or the previous year's income of a person under a duty of support prescribed in Article 877, paragraph (1) of the Civil Code (Act No. 89 of 1896) who shares a livelihood with that father or mother, is the amount specified by Cabinet Order or more, according to the presence and number of that person's dependents and similar persons, the allowance for that father or mother is not paid from November of that year to October of the following year.

If the previous year's income of the spouse of a person raising the child, or the previous year's income of a person under a duty of support prescribed in Article 877, paragraph (1) of the Civil Code who supports that person raising the child, is the amount specified by Cabinet Order prescribed in the preceding Article or more, according to the presence and number of that person's dependents and similar persons, the allowance for that person raising the child is not paid from November of that year to October of the following year.

①Where there is a person who has suffered damage, due to an earthquake, windstorm or flood, fire or other similar disaster, in which the amount of damage (excluding amounts made up by insurance money, compensation for damages, etc.) to a residence, household goods or other property specified by Cabinet Order owned by that person, or by the spouse in the same household or a dependent of that person prescribed in the Income Tax Act, is approximately one-half or more of its value (hereinafter referred to as a "disaster victim"), the provisions of Article 9 through the preceding Article do not apply, with respect to the allowance for the period from the month in which the damage was suffered to October of the following year, to the income of that disaster victim in the year preceding the year in which the damage was suffered or in the year before that.

②Where the allowance for the period prescribed in the preceding paragraph has been paid through the application of that paragraph, and any of the following items applies, the person who received that payment must, as provided by Cabinet Order, return to a prefecture, a city (including a special ward) or a town or village that has established a welfare office (hereinafter referred to as a "prefecture, etc.") all or part of an amount equivalent to the allowance prescribed in the respective item for the period prescribed in that paragraph.

The scope of the income prescribed in Articles 9 through 11 and in the items of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article, and the method of calculating its amount, are specified by Cabinet Order.

①The allowance is not paid, in whole or in part, for a child, as provided by Cabinet Order, where, in the case of the allowance for a mother or person raising the child, the child falls under item (i), (ii) or (iv), or, in the case of the allowance for a father, the child falls under item (i), (iii) or (iv).

②The allowance is not paid, in whole or in part, as provided by Cabinet Order, where an eligible recipient falls under any of the following cases.

③When an eligible recipient can receive a disability basic pension, etc. (excluding the case where payment of the whole amount has been suspended), the allowance is not paid, as provided by Cabinet Order, in an amount equivalent to the amount of that disability basic pension, etc. (limited to the part relating to the addition for a person having a child).

④In specifying the Cabinet Order referred to in the part of paragraph (1) other than the items and in the preceding paragraph, care is to be taken so that the amount of the allowance paid to an eligible recipient with two or more children in custody, etc. does not fall below the amount of the allowance paid to an eligible recipient with one child in custody, etc.

①Payment of the allowance to an eligible recipient (excluding a person raising the child; the same applies hereinafter in this Article) is partly withheld, as provided by Cabinet Order, when five years have elapsed from the first day of the first month of payment, or seven years have elapsed from the first day of the month containing the day on which the requirements for payment of the allowance came to be met (or, in the case of an eligible recipient who had in custody a child under three years of age on the day of making a claim for certification under Article 6, paragraph (1), when five years have elapsed from the first day of the month following the month containing the day on which that child reached the age of three); provided, however, that the amount so withheld may not exceed an amount equivalent to one-half of the amount of the allowance to be paid to that eligible recipient in the month following the month containing the day on which that period elapsed.

②If an eligible recipient, after the period prescribed in the preceding paragraph has elapsed, has a physical disability or otherwise falls under grounds specified by Cabinet Order, the preceding paragraph does not apply to that eligible recipient during the period in which the recipient falls under such grounds, as provided by Cabinet Office Order.

In any of the following cases, all or part of the amount of the allowance may be withheld:

If a person receiving payment of the allowance, without a justifiable reason, fails to make a notification under Article 28, paragraph (1), or fails to submit documents or other materials, payment of the allowance may be temporarily suspended.

If an eligible recipient of the allowance dies and there is any allowance that was to be paid to the deceased person but had not yet been paid to that person, the unpaid allowance may be paid to a person who was a child in custody, etc. of the deceased person.

A person who is dissatisfied with a disposition made by a prefectural governor concerning payment of the allowance may file a request for review with the prefectural governor.

Where the mayor of a city, or the head of a town or village that administers a welfare office, has delegated all or part of the administrative work concerning payment of the allowance to the head of an administrative organ under that person's control pursuant to Article 33, paragraph (2), a request for review of a disposition concerning that work is to be made to the prefectural governor.

①When a request for review of a disposition concerning payment of the allowance is made, the prefectural governor must make a determination on the request for review within the period specified in each of the following items for the case classified as set out in that item, counted from the day on which the request for review was made (or, where an order to correct a defect has been issued under Article 23 of the Administrative Complaint Review Act (Act No. 68 of 2014), the day on which the defect was corrected):

②If no determination has been made on a request for review within the period specified in each of the following items for the case classified as set out in that item, counted from the day on which the request for review was made (or, where the requestor for review has been ordered to correct a defect under Article 23 of the Administrative Complaint Review Act, the day on which the requestor for review corrected the defect; the same applies in item (i)), the requestor for review may deem that the prefectural governor has rejected the request for review:

An appeal against a disposition concerning payment of the allowance is deemed to be a judicial claim with regard to the suspension of completion and renewal of prescription.

A person who is dissatisfied with a determination of a prefectural governor on a request for review of a disposition concerning payment of the allowance may file a request for re-examination with the Prime Minister.

The costs required for payment of the allowance are borne one-third by the State and two-thirds by the prefectures, etc.

The right to receive payment of the allowance is extinguished by prescription when two years have elapsed from the time when it becomes exercisable.

①If there is a person who has received payment of the allowance by deceit or other wrongful means, the prefectural governor, etc. may collect all or part of an amount equivalent to the amount received from that person, in accordance with the practice for the collection of national taxes.

②The provisions of Article 96, paragraphs (1) through (5), Article 97 and Article 98 of the National Pension Act apply mutatis mutandis to the collection of money under the preceding paragraph. In this case, the phrase "14.6 percent per annum (or, for the period from the day following the due date for payment to the day on which three months have elapsed, where the demand for payment relates to a premium, 7.3 percent per annum)" in Article 97, paragraph (1) of that Act is deemed to be replaced with "14.6 percent per annum".

The right to receive payment of the allowance may not be assigned, offered as security or seized.

Taxes and other public charges may not be imposed on the basis of money paid as the allowance.

With regard to the calculation of periods as prescribed by this Act or an Order based on this Act, the provisions concerning periods as set forth in the Civil Code apply mutatis mutandis.

The mayor of a municipality (including the mayor of a special ward, and, in a designated city under Article 252-19, paragraph (1) of the Local Autonomy Act (Act No. 67 of 1947), the mayor of a ward or of a general ward) may, in accordance with the Municipal Ordinance (including that of a special ward) of that municipality, provide certification free of charge to the prefectural governor, etc. or an eligible recipient regarding the family register of the eligible recipient or the child in custody, etc.

①A person who is receiving payment of the allowance must, as provided by Cabinet Office Order, notify the prefectural governor, etc. of the matters specified by Cabinet Office Order and submit the documents and other articles specified by Cabinet Office Order.

②When a person who is receiving payment of the allowance dies, the person obligated to give notification of the death under the provisions of the Family Register Act (Act No. 224 of 1947) must notify the prefectural governor, etc. to that effect, as provided by Cabinet Office Order.

①The prefectural governor, etc. is to respond to consultations from, and provide necessary information and advice to, a person who has made a claim for certification under Article 6, paragraph (1) or a notification under paragraph (1) of the preceding Article.

②The prefectural governor, etc. may provide an eligible recipient (excluding a person raising the child) with support for livelihood and employment (including the provision of information on that support; the same applies in the following paragraph) and other support necessary for independence.

③The prefectural governor, etc. may, in light of local circumstances, express opinions to the Prime Minister on support for livelihood and employment and other support necessary for independence for an eligible recipient (excluding a person raising the child).

①When the prefectural governor, etc. finds it necessary, the prefectural governor, etc. may order an eligible recipient to submit documents (including those relating to expenses necessary for raising the child that the child's father or mother has paid) and other articles concerning matters necessary for determining whether there is eligibility and the amount of the allowance, or may have the official in charge question the eligible recipient, the child and other persons concerned about those matters.

②When the prefectural governor, etc. finds it necessary, the prefectural governor, etc. may order an eligible recipient to have the child, or the father or mother of the child, in respect of whom payment of the allowance is made by reason of being in a condition of disability of a degree of severity specified by Cabinet Order as prescribed in Article 3, paragraph (1) or Article 4, paragraph (1), item (i), (c), undergo a diagnosis by a physician designated by the prefectural governor, etc., or may have the official in charge diagnose that person's condition of disability.

③The official in charge who conducts questioning or diagnosis under the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs must carry a certificate showing the official's status and present it when a person concerned so requests.

When the prefectural governor, etc. finds it necessary in connection with a disposition concerning payment of the allowance, the prefectural governor, etc. may, concerning the status of the assets or income of an eligible recipient, the child, or the spouse or a person under a duty of support of the eligible recipient, or the status of payment of public pension benefits to an eligible recipient, the child, or the father or mother of the child, request a government agency, the Japan Pension Service, a mutual aid association organized by law, the Federation of National Public Service Personnel Mutual Aid Associations, or the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan to allow inspection of necessary documents or to provide materials, or request a bank, a trust company or other institution, or the employer of an eligible recipient or another person concerned, to report necessary matters.

Where payment has been made as payment of the allowance even though the allowance should not have been paid, the allowance so paid may be deemed to be an advance payment of the allowance to be paid thereafter. The same applies to the amount to be returned where all or part of an amount equivalent to the allowance already received is to be returned under Article 12, paragraph (2), and to the portion that should have been reduced of an allowance, where grounds have arisen for revising the amount of the allowance by reducing it but an allowance of an unreduced amount has been paid for the months from the month following the month containing the day on which those grounds arose.

Beyond what is specially provided for in this Act, detailed rules necessary for procedures for implementing this Act and for other matters concerning its execution are specified by Cabinet Office Order.

①Part of the administrative work concerning payment of the allowance may be performed by the head of a town or village (excluding the head of a town or village that administers a welfare office), as provided by Cabinet Order.

②A prefectural governor, etc. may delegate all or part of the administrative work concerning payment of the allowance, only to the head of an administrative organ under that person's control.

Where towns or villages have established a partial-affairs association or a wide-area union and set up a welfare office, then for the purpose of applying the provisions of this Act, that partial-affairs association or wide-area union is deemed to be the town or village that sets up a welfare office, and the administrator of that partial-affairs association (or, in the case of a partial-affairs association under Article 285 of the Local Autonomy Act in which a board of directors is established in place of an administrator pursuant to Article 287-3, paragraph (2) of that Act, the board of directors) or the head of the wide-area union (or, in the case of a wide-area union in which a board of directors is established in place of the head pursuant to Article 287-3, paragraph (2) of that Act as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 291-13 of that Act, the board of directors) is deemed to be the head of the town or village that administers a welfare office.

The administrative affairs that are to be handled by prefectures, etc. pursuant to the provisions of this Act (excluding Article 28-2, paragraphs (2) and (3)) are Type 1 statutory entrusted affairs prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (9), item (i) of the Local Autonomy Act.

When a Cabinet Order is established, or revised or repealed, based on this Act, the necessary transitional measures may be specified by Cabinet Order, to the extent judged to be reasonably necessary in connection with that establishment, revision, or repeal.

A person who has received the allowance by deceit or other wrongful means is punished by imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine of not more than 300,000 yen; provided, however, that if a provision of the Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1907) provides for a penalty for the act, the Penal Code applies.

A person with an obligation to give notification of a death under the provisions of the Family Register Act who has failed to give notification in violation of Article 28, paragraph (2) is punished by a civil fine of not more than 100,000 yen.