How much does daycare cost in Japan?
Last checked: 2026-11-06
Licensed daycare is free for children aged 3 to 5, and free for ages 0 to 2 only in households exempt from resident tax. Other families with younger children pay a monthly fee set by their municipality and based on income. Meals, transport and events are usually extra.
National rules by type of care
| Type | Ages 3 to 5 | Ages 0 to 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed nursery, certified center, community childcare | Free | Free only if exempt from resident tax |
| Kindergarten outside the new system | Free up to 28,000 yen a month | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Kindergarten extended care | Up to 12,300 yen a month, at 490 yen a day used, with a certificate of need | Not generally covered. A 17,700 yen cap applies to some children aged 3 in tax-exempt households until the first March 31 after their birthday. |
| Unlicensed childcare | Up to 40,300 yen a month, with a certificate of need | Up to 45,700 yen a month if exempt from resident tax, with a certificate of need |
These caps apply to use from October 1, 2026, as Hiroshima City's page of October 9, 2026 shows. Before that date they were 25,700 yen for kindergarten, 11,300 yen and 450 yen a day for extended care, 16,300 yen for the age 3 cap, and 37,000 yen and 42,000 yen for unlicensed care. The national agency pages we read still show the old amounts.
The free period for ages 3 to 5 runs from the April after the child turns 3 until starting elementary school. The scheme began in October 2019. A certificate of need comes from your municipality.
What is not free
- Transport and event fees. Parents pay these.
- Food for ages 3 to 5. Parents pay for ingredients. Side-dish costs are waived for households with income equal to under 3.6 million yen and for third and later children.
- Extended hours and temporary care. Fukuoka says these cost extra.
A 2025 Children and Families Agency document shows 4,500 yen a month for side dishes and 3,000 yen for staple food as reference figures, and says facilities collect these fees themselves. Your facility's charge may differ.
Ages 0 to 2: how cities differ
Fees depend on your municipal tax amount. Rules for siblings vary, and this comparison is why the same family can pay different amounts in different cities.
| Place | Rule found |
|---|---|
| National scheme | Oldest child in care is the first child, the second pays half, and third and later children are free |
| Tokyo | Since September 1, 2025, Tokyo has supported municipalities that make fees free for the first child, for all households using licensed nurseries, whatever their age or income. Each municipality runs it, so check yours. |
| Fukuoka City | Second and later children in the 0 to 2 class are free. Food is included in the fee. |
| Nagoya City | Second child pays half and third and later children are free in several tiers, with extra rules for low-income, single-parent and disabled-child households |
Worked example: unlicensed care in Koto City
Koto says Tokyo-certified nurseries (ninsho hoikujo) cost about 50,000 to 80,000 yen a month for 22 days of 10 hours. Koto lists them under unlicensed facilities. This is our own arithmetic for a child aged 3 to 5 with a certificate of need, using the 40,300 yen national cap from October 2026. Koto also has its own subsidy for residents, which we did not include, so the real cost may be lower. It also leaves out food and extended hours.
| Monthly fee | National cap | Parent pays monthly | Over 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50,000 yen | 40,300 yen | 9,700 yen | 116,400 yen |
| 65,000 yen | 40,300 yen | 24,700 yen | 296,400 yen |
| 80,000 yen | 40,300 yen | 39,700 yen | 476,400 yen |
So a licensed place at 0 yen and an unlicensed place can differ by hundreds of thousands of yen a year before local subsidies.
How to apply, using Fukuoka as an example
- Visit each facility you want and attend an interview.
- Apply at least one month before the start date, at the ward office or online.
- Apply for certification at the same time.
- Start dates are the 1st, 11th or 21st of the month.
Other cities have other deadlines, so ask your own ward office early. Add this to your moving checklist.
What we could not confirm
- Monthly fees for ages 0 to 2. The Fukuoka and Nagoya tables are in PDFs we could not read. We give no fee range, because we would not guess one. Ask your municipality for its table.
- Families new to Japan. Fees use your municipal tax, and your first resident tax may not exist yet. We did not find how cities set the fee in that case. Ask your ward office.
This page is general information. Your municipal childcare office decides fees and places.
Sources
- Children and Families Agency: free early childhood education overview (Japanese)
- Children and Families Agency: free early childhood education (Japanese)
- Children and Families Agency: user charges under the free scheme, 2025 (Japanese)
- Hiroshima City: kindergarten caps from October 2026, October 9, 2026 (Japanese)
- Hiroshima City: unlicensed care and extended care caps, October 9, 2026 (Japanese)
- Minato City: change of unlicensed care subsidy from October 2026 (Japanese)
- Tokyo Bureau of Social Welfare: free childcare (Japanese)
- Fukuoka City: childcare fees
- Fukuoka City: 2026 usage guide
- Nagoya City: fees for ages 0 to 2 (Japanese)
- Koto City: certified nurseries, updated February 27, 2026 (Japanese)