💴 Child Allowance Expanded to High Schoolers

❓ What changed?

From October 2024 (first payment in December), Japan's Child Allowance was expanded in four ways. (1) The income cap was removed, so the full amount is paid regardless of parents' income. (2) Coverage was extended from junior-high age to high-school age (through the fiscal year-end after age 18). (3) The amount for a third or later child rose from ¥15,000 to ¥30,000 per month, and the multi-child count now includes children up to college age (through the year they turn 22). (4) Payments changed from three times a year to six times, in even months. Amounts are ¥15,000/month under age 3 and ¥10,000/month from age 3 to high-school age (first and second child).

👥 Who is eligible?

• ●Anyone living in Japan raising a child up to high-school age (any nationality)
• ●High-income households previously excluded by the income cap
• ●Families raising only a high-school-age child who received no allowance before
• ●Households with three or more children (third child onward now ¥30,000/month)
• ●Foreign households living in Japan with family under a valid residence status (not short-term study)

🌏 Impact on foreign residents

Child Allowance is available to foreign households on the same terms as Japanese nationals, as long as you have a resident registration and are raising the child (with some exceptions, e.g., a child living abroad). This expansion sharply increases payments for families with high-school-age or third-and-later children. Note that becoming newly eligible does not always mean automatic payment. In particular, formerly high-income households and those raising only a high-school-age child must apply to their local city office.