To Use a Nursery School in Japan, Both Parents Need a Qualifying Reason — Such as Work

Nursery schools (保育所, hoikusho) in Japan are facilities that provide childcare in place of the family when a child cannot be cared for at home — for example, because the parents are working or ill. To enroll, you first need a certification that childcare is “needed,” issued by the municipality where you live. This certification is based on the Child and Childcare Support Act, and the Children and Families Agency (こども家庭庁) explains that eligibility depends on actually living in that municipality, regardless of nationality or whether you are registered as a resident. What follows is based on the law (via the e-Gov Japanese Law Search) and official pages of the Children and Families Agency and the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA), checked in September 2026.

This article does not determine whether your child can get into a nursery school, or how much you will pay. That is decided by your municipality and depends on the availability of places and each municipality’s own standards.

Nursery School Is Not the Only Option

The Immigration Services Agency’s 生活・就労ガイドブック (Guidebook on Living and Working, Japanese edition, 8th edition) names three kinds of facility for children before they start elementary school: nursery schools, kindergartens, and certified centers for early childhood education and care.

• Nursery school (保育所, hoikusho): A facility that cares for children in place of the parents when they cannot provide childcare at home, for example because they are working. The standard childcare day is 8 hours.
• Kindergarten (幼稚園, yochien): An educational facility for children from age 3 until they start elementary school. The standard educational day is 4 hours, though some kindergartens also provide care into the evening.
• Certified center for early childhood education and care (認定こども園, nintei kodomo-en): Combines the functions of a nursery school and a kindergarten, and can be used whether or not the parents work.

In addition, Article 24 of the Child Welfare Act lists small-scale childcare arrangements — such as home-based childcare businesses and small-scale childcare businesses — as means municipalities can use to secure childcare. There are also “unlicensed childcare facilities” (認可外保育施設) that have not been licensed by the national government or a local authority; the Guidebook gives baby hotels and babysitting services as examples.

Three Certification Categories

Article 19 of the Child and Childcare Support Act divides children of pre-elementary-school age into three groups. Materials from the Children and Families Agency refer to the resulting certifications, for the Education and Childcare Benefit, as “Category 1 Certification,” “Category 2 Certification,” and “Category 3 Certification.”

To enter a nursery school you need Category 2 or Category 3 certification, which recognizes a need for childcare. Article 20 of the same Act provides that this certification is granted by the municipality where the guardian resides, that a decision must be made within 30 days of the application, and that if the review takes longer, the municipality may extend the period by notifying the applicant, within 30 days, of the reason and the expected length of the extension.

Reasons Recognized as a “Need for Childcare”

The circumstances under which a family is considered unable to provide the necessary childcare at home are set out in Article 1-5 of the Enforcement Regulations of the Child and Childcare Support Act. It lists the following ten reasons:

• Regularly working at least the number of hours the municipality sets, within a range of 48 to 64 hours a month
• Being pregnant, or having recently given birth
• Having an illness or injury, or a mental or physical disability
• Continuously caring for or nursing a relative living in the same household (including one who has been hospitalized for a long time)
• Working on recovery from a disaster such as an earthquake, storm or flood damage, or fire
• Continuing job-seeking activities (including preparing to start a business)
• Enrolled in a school, vocational school, or other educational institution, or receiving vocational training
• Childcare being difficult because of child abuse or violence from a spouse
• Being on childcare leave, where an older sibling is already using a nursery school or similar facility and needs to keep using it
• Other reasons the municipality recognizes as comparable to the above

The important point is that the same provision requires that “each of the guardians” (保護者のいずれも) fall under one of these reasons. In a family where both parents are in Japan, a reason is needed for both the father and the mother. Where the municipality sets the lower limit on working hours (somewhere between 48 and 64 hours) and what counts under the last reason, “reasons the municipality recognizes,” are both decided by the municipality. How attending a Japanese-language school, or continuing to work remotely for a Ukrainian company from Japan, would be treated is something to confirm with your municipality.

How Nationality and Resident Registration Are Treated

The Children and Families Agency’s “FAQ for Municipalities on the Free Early Childhood Education and Childcare Program” (July 1, 2024 edition) answers a question about children of foreign nationality as follows:

Support under the new Child and Childcare Support System is available regardless of whether a person holds Japanese nationality or is entered in a family register or resident register, so long as they actually reside in the municipality concerned — including those living inside U.S. military bases — and this same principle applies to the free early childhood education and childcare program.

Children and Families Agency, “FAQ for Municipalities on the Free Early Childhood Education and Childcare Program [July 1, 2024 edition],” No. 1-30

In other words, the entry point to the childcare system is not nationality or the type of status of residence, but the fact of living in that municipality. That said, the documents required when applying — such as a 在留カード (residence card) or an employer’s certificate of employment — are decided by the municipality. Resident registration (住民登録) is also a precondition for other procedures, such as National Health Insurance and the Child Allowance. Resident registration is covered in the article Words That Come Up in Japan’s Resident Registration.

The Immigration Services Agency’s page for Ukrainian evacuees, “To Ukrainians Having Trouble with Medical Care, Nursing Care, or Childcare” (医療・介護・保育でお困りのウクライナのみなさんへ), also states that childcare services are available, and recommends confirming details with your municipality and, if possible, bringing a Japanese-speaking family member or friend along.

When You Apply Affects the Result

When more people want a place than there are spaces available, the municipality coordinates use (Child Welfare Act, Article 24, paragraph 3). Applications for admission starting in April may have a deadline in the autumn of the previous year.

As one example, the city of Yokohama had announced that the first-round application period for people wanting to use a nursery school or similar facility from April 2027 would run from October 1 to October 28, 2026. There is a separate information page for people who want to start using a facility partway through the fiscal year. Applications are, in principle, made online using a My Number Card. Yokohama publishes its guidance in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, but not in Ukrainian (as confirmed in September 2026). Deadlines and methods differ by municipality, so search your municipality’s website for “保育所 入所 申込み” (nursery school enrollment application) and check the next deadline.

Cost: No Fee for Children Ages 3 to 5

The Children and Families Agency explains the free early childhood education and childcare program, which began in October 2019, as follows (confirmed September 2026):

• Use of a kindergarten, nursery school, certified center for early childhood education and care, or similar facility is free for children ages 3 to 5. The free period runs for three years, from April 1 after the child turns 3 until they start elementary school (for kindergartens, from age 3, timed to when enrollment is possible). For kindergartens, the fee is capped at 25,700 yen a month (2.57万円).
• Costs such as transportation to and from the facility, food ingredients, and event fees are paid by the guardians. However, for children in households with an equivalent annual income under 3.6 million yen (360万円), and for the third and later children in any household, the cost of side dishes (副食, such as side dishes and snacks) is waived.
• For children ages 0 to 2, use is free for households exempt from resident tax. Also, counting the oldest child using a nursery school or similar facility as the first child, the second child ages 0 to 2 pays half price, and the third and later children are free.
• For people not using a nursery school or similar facility who receive a certification of need for childcare and use an unlicensed childcare facility or similar, use is free up to 37,000 yen a month for children ages 3 to 5, and up to 42,000 yen a month for children ages 0 to 2 in households exempt from resident tax. Eligible unlicensed childcare facilities must be registered with the prefecture or a similar body and meet nationally set standards.

Where the free program does not apply, the nursery school fee (the amount charged to the user) is calculated by the municipality. Check with your municipality about the fee for a family that has recently arrived in Japan. The Children and Families Agency publishes information on the free program in English, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish, but not in Ukrainian or Russian (as confirmed in September 2026).

Facilities You Can Use Even If You Are Not Working

Some services can be used without a certification of need for childcare. A leaflet in Ukrainian and Japanese, “You Can Receive Childcare Support Services” (子育て支援のサービスを受けることができます), produced by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and posted on the Immigration Services Agency’s website, introduces temporary childcare (一時頸かり, ichiji azukari), which looks after children for short periods during the day, and community childcare support centers (地域子育て支援拠点), where parents and children can spend time together and get advice on childcare.

Another option is the “childcare-for-anyone program” (こども誰でも通園制度, kodomo daredemo tsuen seido). The Children and Families Agency explains that, from fiscal year 2026, it will be implemented nationwide by municipalities as a new benefit under the Child and Childcare Support Act. According to the Agency’s materials, it is available to children from 6 months to under 3 years old who are not attending a nursery school or similar facility, regardless of whether the parents work, and can be used by the hour within a monthly allowance of up to 10 hours. In fiscal years 2026 and 2027, municipalities may also set a lower allowance, of 3 to under 10 hours, by local ordinance.

Where to Ask

The point of contact for nursery school applications is the childcare section of your municipality. Some municipalities have consultation counters specifically for foreign residents. How to find a multilingual consultation counter in your area is covered in the article Where to Ask First When You Start Living in Japan, and status-of-residence procedures are covered in Status-of-Residence Procedures for People Who Evacuated.