Public Assistance Act

• Assistance makes up the part of a person's needs, measured by standards the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare sets, that their own money and goods cannot meet. The standards take account of age, sex, household make-up, region and the other circumstances each kind of assistance calls for, and must be enough for a minimum standard of living, one that keeps up a healthy and cultured standard of living, but not more. Whether assistance is needed, and how much, is decided for the household as a whole; where that is not workable, it can be decided for one person.(Art. 3(1), Art. 8(1), Art. 8(2), Art. 10(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• There are eight kinds of assistance (livelihood, education, housing, medical, long-term care, maternity, occupational and funeral assistance), given singly or together as the person needs. Medical and long-term care assistance are given in kind, medical care through medical facilities for persons requiring public assistance (医療保護施設) or designated medical institutions (指定医療機関); the other six are given in money. Each can be given the other way where the usual way is not possible or not suitable, or where the purpose of assistance otherwise requires it.(Art. 11(1), Art. 11(2), Art. 31(1), Art. 32(1), Art. 33(1), Art. 34(1), Art. 34(2), Art. 34-2(1), Art. 35(1), Art. 36(1), Art. 37(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Assistance starts on an application by the person in need, a person who owes them support (扶養義務者) or another relative living with them. The application is made in writing to the public assistance administrator (保護の実施機関), giving the names and addresses of the person in need and of the applicant, the reason, the person's assets and income and the other matters a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order lists, with the documents such an Order lists, unless special circumstances make it impossible to write it or to attach them; it can also be handed to the mayor of a town or village with no welfare office (福祉事務所), who must send it on within five days. An application to change assistance follows the same rules.(Art. 7(1), Art. 24(1), Art. 24(2), Art. 24(9), Art. 24(10), Art. 19(6)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The administrator must decide whether to give assistance and its kind, extent and method, and notify the applicant in writing, with the reasons, within 14 days of the application. Where there is a special reason, such as the time needed to look into the assets and income of those who owe support, this can be extended to 30 days, and the notice must then say why it took longer. An applicant who has had no notice within 30 days of applying may treat the application as rejected.(Art. 24(3), Art. 24(4), Art. 24(5), Art. 24(6), Art. 24(7)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Assistance already decided cannot be changed to the recipient's disadvantage without justifiable grounds. No tax or other public charge is levied on the basis of the money and goods received as assistance or of the benefit to prepare for further education or work, and neither these, once received, nor the right to receive them can be seized. The right to receive assistance, the independence-through-work benefit or the preparation benefit cannot be transferred.(Art. 56(1), Art. 57(1), Art. 58(1), Art. 59(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A recipient must always work hard according to their ability, take care of their own health, keep proper track of their income and spending and economise, and otherwise try to maintain and improve their living. They must promptly report to the administrator or the head of the welfare office any change in their income, spending or other circumstances of their livelihood, or in where they live or who is in their household.(Art. 60(1), Art. 61(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A recipient whom the governor or mayor finds no longer needs assistance because they have taken work a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order counts as stable, or for another reason such an Order sets, is paid an independence-through-work benefit (就労自立給付金). A recipient who is up to the first 31 March after their 18th birthday, or is another recipient such an Order names, and who is expected with certainty to enter an education or training institution such an Order designates or to take stable work, or is in a position such an Order treats as equivalent, is paid a benefit to prepare for further education or work (進学・就職準備給付金). The right to either benefit lapses two years after it could first be exercised.(Art. 55-4(1), Art. 55-5(1), Art. 55-5(1)(i), Art. 55-5(1)(ii), Art. 76-3(1)) (the provisions it rests on)

• 1 October 2026

  The text on this site

  Act Partially Amending the Medical Care Act, etc.

  医療法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 87 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 25 June 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Social Welfare Act, etc.

  社会福祉法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 51 of 2026The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 24 June 2026

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc.

  民法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律

  Act No. 46 of 2026The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 April 2026

  Act on the Development of Related Acts for the Promotion of Reform to Enhance Regional Autonomy and Independence

  地域の自主性及び自立性を高めるための改革の推進を図るための関係法律の整備に関する法律

  Act No. 35 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 April 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Health Insurance Act, etc. to Establish a Sustainable Social Security System for All Generations

  全世代対応型の持続可能な社会保障制度を構築するための健康保険法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 31 of 2023The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 October 2025

  Act Partially Amending the Act on Providing Comprehensive Support for the Daily Life and Life in Society of Persons with Disabilities, etc.

  障害者の日常生活及び社会生活を総合的に支援するための法律等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 104 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 June 2025

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc. (extract)

  刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律　抄

  Act No. 68 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 April 2025

  Act Partially Amending the Act on Self-Reliance Support for Persons in Need, etc.

  生活困窮者自立支援法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 21 of 2024The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 October 2024

  Act Partially Amending the Act on Support for Children and Child-rearing, etc.

  子ども・子育て支援法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 47 of 2024The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 October 2024

  Act Partially Amending the Act on Self-Reliance Support for Persons in Need, etc.

  生活困窮者自立支援法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 21 of 2024The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

All 38 amendments already in force

• Where a person in need is in urgent circumstances, the necessary assistance can be given without an application, and the administrator must start it promptly on its own authority. Until the urgency ends, it is given by the governor or mayor whose welfare office covers where the person is, even if they have a known residence elsewhere.(Art. 7(1), Art. 25(1), Art. 19(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• In urgent or other unavoidable circumstances, a recipient may get medical care from a medical institution that is not designated, or treatment from a practitioner who is not; the same holds for long-term care and for midwifery.(Art. 34(7), Art. 34-2(3), Art. 35(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Chapter 3 of the Administrative Procedure Act (行政手続法), on adverse dispositions, does not apply, apart from its Articles 12 and 14 (standards for dispositions, and giving the reasons), to decisions under Chapter 4 of this Act, such as decisions on starting, changing, suspending or ending assistance, or to a change, suspension or ending of assistance because a recipient did not follow instructions or a facility's rules.(Art. 29-2(1), Art. 62(5), Administrative Procedure Act Chapter 3, Administrative Procedure Act Art. 12, Administrative Procedure Act Art. 14) (the provisions it rests on)
• Funeral assistance can be given to the person who holds a funeral, where a recipient has died and no one who owed them support holds it, or where anyone has died with no such person to hold it and left too little to pay for it. The administrator may then put the dead person's money and securities toward the cost and sell their belongings to cover the rest, and the prefecture or municipality's claim on those belongings comes before other creditors' preferential rights (先取特権).(Art. 18(2), Art. 18(2)(i), Art. 18(2)(ii), Art. 76(1), Art. 76(2)) (the provisions it rests on)

• Assistance is decided and given by the prefectural governor, the city mayor, or the mayor of a town or village that runs a welfare office (福祉事務所), for people in need who live in the area of a welfare office it runs, or who are in that area with no residence or none known. The mayor of a town or village with no welfare office must, on its own authority, give emergency assistance to a person in its area whose especially urgent situation cannot be left; it also reports people in need it finds and changes in recipients' circumstances, passes applications on to the administrator, and hands over money or goods or investigates when asked. Social welfare officers (社会福祉主事) assist the governors and mayors, and commissioned welfare volunteers (民生委員) cooperate with the mayors, the heads of welfare offices and the social welfare officers.(Art. 19(1), Art. 19(6), Art. 19(7), Art. 19(7)(i), Art. 19(7)(ii), Art. 19(7)(iii), Art. 19(7)(iv), Art. 25(3), Art. 21(1), Art. 22(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where it is needed to decide or give assistance, or to collect its cost from those who owe support or from anyone who obtained it wrongfully (Articles 77 and 78), the administrator may ask the person in need for reports, have an official enter where they live to look into their assets, income, health and other matters, or order them to be examined by a doctor or dentist it names; the official must carry identification and show it when asked, and the power is not one granted for criminal investigation. It may also ask those who owe the person support and relatives living with them, or anyone who was the person in need or such a relative at the time of the application, for reports on the application and its documents. If the person in need does not report, reports falsely, refuses, obstructs or evades the entry, or does not follow the order to be examined, the administrator may reject their application or change, suspend or end their assistance.(Art. 28(1), Art. 28(2), Art. 28(3), Art. 28(4), Art. 28(5)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where it is needed to decide or give assistance, or to collect its cost under Articles 77 and 78, the administrator and the head of the welfare office may ask government offices, the Japan Pension Service and mutual aid associations to let them see documents or to provide records, and ask banks, trust companies, employers and others for reports, on the name, address, assets, income, health and other matters of a person in need, on the assets, income and other matters of a former recipient for the time they received assistance, and on the name, address, assets and income of those who owe them support. The heads of the offices Appended Table 1 lists, the Japan Pension Service and the mutual aid associations must promptly do so for the information the table lists, such as pensions, employment insurance and other benefits, family registers (戸籍), tax and registered cars.(Art. 29(1), Art. 29(1)(i), Art. 29(1)(ii), Art. 29(2), Appended Table 1) (the provisions it rests on)
• The administrator may give a recipient guidance or instructions needed to maintain or improve their living, and may decide to give livelihood assistance by placing them in a facility or in the care of a private home where it cannot be given at home, would not serve its purpose there, or the recipient wishes it. Guidance must respect the recipient's freedom and go no further than needed, and neither guidance nor a placement may be forced on the recipient against their will. But a recipient who does not follow them, or the rules of a facility they use, may have assistance changed, suspended or ended, after being told the reason and given a chance to explain (弁明) at a notified time and place.(Art. 27(1), Art. 27(2), Art. 27(3), Art. 30(1), Art. 30(2), Art. 62(1), Art. 62(2), Art. 62(3), Art. 62(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a recipient's person with parental authority (親権者) or guardian (後見人) does not exercise their rights properly, the administrator may, with the family court's permission, place the recipient in a facility or in the care of a private home even over that person's objection.This is the rule until the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc. (民法等の一部を改正する法律, Act No. 45 of 2026) comes into force.(Art. 30(3), Art. 30(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• From the day the amendment of the Civil Code (Act No. 45 of 2026) comes into force, the rule names the recipient's person with parental authority (親権者), guardian of a minor (未成年後見人) or specified assistant (特定補助人): where one of them does not exercise their rights properly, the administrator may, with the family court's permission, place the recipient in a facility or in the care of a private home even over that person's objection. For the adult wards (成年被後見人) and adult guardians (成年後見人) whom that Act's supplementary provisions (附則) keep under the earlier rules, the earlier wording, which names the guardian (後見人), continues to apply.This is the rule from the day the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc. (民法等の一部を改正する法律, Act No. 45 of 2026) comes into force.(Art. 30(3), Art. 30(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 1(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 2(1), Civil Code Suppl. Prov. Art. 1(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The administrator must keep track of a recipient's circumstances and, when a change is needed, decide it promptly on its own authority and notify the recipient in writing with the reasons; when the recipient no longer needs assistance, it must promptly decide to suspend or end it and notify them in writing. When ending assistance for someone who is a person in need (生活困窮者) under the Act on Self-Reliance Support for Persons in Need (生活困窮者自立支援法), a separate Act, it is to try to give them information and advice about that Act's services and benefits.(Art. 25(2), Art. 24(4), Art. 26(1), Art. 81-4(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A recipient who received assistance in an urgent case or otherwise while having the means must promptly repay, up to the value of what they received, an amount the administrator sets. The governor or mayor of the prefecture or municipality that paid may collect all or part of it, in the way national taxes are collected (国税徴収の例), except where a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order says collection is not appropriate. Where advance payments must be returned because assistance changes or ends, the administrator may decide not to require it from a recipient who spent or lost them for an unavoidable reason.(Art. 63(1), Art. 77-2(1), Art. 77-2(2), Art. 80(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• From anyone who obtained assistance by a false application or other wrongful means, or got another person to, the governor or mayor whose prefecture or municipality paid may collect all or part of the cost and an extra sum of up to 40% of the amount collected, in the way national taxes are collected; the same holds for designated medical, care, midwifery and treatment providers paid by fraud, and for the two benefits. Obtaining assistance or either benefit that way, or getting another person to, is also a crime punishable by up to 3 years' imprisonment (拘禁刑) or a fine of up to 1 million yen, unless the Penal Code (刑法) has a provision for the act, in which case the Penal Code applies. A recipient may ask, before payment, that part of their money assistance or of their independence-through-work benefit go toward a sum being collected from them for assistance received while having the means or obtained wrongfully, and it is then taken from the payment, from money assistance only where the administrator finds that will not harm the recipient's living.(Art. 78(1), Art. 78(2), Art. 78(3), Art. 78(4), Art. 77-2(2), Art. 85(1), Art. 85(2), Art. 78-2(1), Art. 78-2(2), Art. 78-2(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Leaking without justifiable reason a secret learned in the work of a coordination meeting (調整会議), or leaking one learned in support or analysis work contracted out under the Act, is punishable by up to 1 year's imprisonment (拘禁刑) or a fine of up to 1 million yen, and disobeying an order the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare gives to stop demanding recipient numbers (受給者番号) or building databases of them, by up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 500,000 yen. Failing without justifiable reason to give a report or produce records demanded under the Act's provisions on facilities, designated providers, the two benefits or recipient numbers, giving a false one, not answering an official's questions or answering falsely, and refusing, obstructing or evading an inspection under them, are punishable by a fine of up to 300,000 yen; this covers recipients and former recipients asked to report on the two benefits, and refusing an official's investigation of a home under Article 28(1) too, except where the person in need is the one refusing. For these offences and the breach of an order, the corporation or person for whose business the offence was committed is fined as well.(Art. 85-2(1), Art. 27-3(6), Art. 55-7(3), Art. 55-9(4), Art. 85-3(1), Art. 80-2(3), Art. 80-2(4), Art. 80-2(5), Art. 80-2(6), Art. 86(1), Art. 44(1), Art. 54(1), Art. 55-6(1), Art. 74(2)(i), Art. 80-3(1), Art. 28(1), Art. 87(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A request for review (審査請求) of a decision on assistance or on either benefit must be ruled on by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or the prefectural governor within 70 days where they consult the body Article 43(1) of the Administrative Complaint Review Act (行政不服審査法) names, and within 50 days otherwise, counted from the day of the request or, where the requester was ordered to correct a defect in it, from the day it was corrected. A requester who has had no ruling within 50 days, or within 70 days if told within those 50 days that the body was consulted, may treat the request as dismissed. A request about a decision of an office to which a mayor delegated the work goes to the prefectural governor.(Art. 64(1), Art. 65(1), Art. 65(2), Administrative Complaint Review Act Art. 43(1), Administrative Complaint Review Act Art. 43(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A person dissatisfied with the governor's ruling on a request about a decision made by a city, town or village mayor, or by an office the mayor delegated the work to, may make a request for re-examination (再審査請求) to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, who must rule within 70 days. A court action to cancel a decision of the administrator, or of the authority paying the two benefits, can be brought only after a ruling on the request for review. In a designated city (指定都市) or core city (中核市), the city does the work the Act gives prefectures that a Cabinet Order names, and a ruling on a request about its mayor's decision on that work can likewise be taken to the Minister for re-examination.(Art. 66(1), Art. 66(2), Art. 69(1), Art. 84-2(1), Art. 84-2(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Protective facilities (保護施設) are guided by the prefectural governor, who may require reports and inspect them. Where a facility no longer meets the standards, has lost its purpose or breaks the Act, it can be ordered to improve or to stop its work, by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare for a prefecture's own facility and by the governor for the others, and a public one can be ordered closed; the governor can also revoke the approval of one a social welfare corporation (社会福祉法人) or the Japanese Red Cross Society runs, and can act against such a facility too where it no longer meets the approval criteria, is run for profit, does not start by the planned day without justifiable reason, or has changed approved particulars without approval. The Minister or the governor may require designated medical institutions and those who work or worked there to report and produce records, question them and inspect the institution, and may revoke the designation or suspend it for a period for causes such as breaking their duties or fraud in billing for treatment.(Art. 43(1), Art. 44(1), Art. 45(1), Art. 45(2), Art. 54(1), Art. 51(2)) (the provisions it rests on)