Summary of Nursery School costs in Japan

Hello, we are YUI!
Our last note introduced kindergarten costs in Japan (https://note.com/foreign_yui/n/n75d235db77a8).
This time we would like to talk about Nursery School (保育園・ほいくえん) costs in Japan.

Japan's Nursery School System

On our second note, we have mentioned the definition of Nursery School and its difference from kindergarten. According to the Child Welfare Law (Article 39(1)) in Japan, Daycare Institutions are entrusted by parents on a daily basis to care for their infants or toddlers who lack childcare, whose management bodies are prefectures, municipalities and partial administrative associations.

There are two main types of nurseries: "authorized" (認可) and "unauthorized" (認可外). In the following parts, we will introduce the difference between these schools and the cost of each of them.

Authorized Nursery School

Authorized childcare centers are facilities that meet the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's (厚生労働省・こうせいろうどうしょう) Standards for the Equipment and Operation of Child Welfare Institutions. They are operated on the basis of authorization from the prefectural governor or the mayor of the municipality.
One feature of authorized nurseries is that there are two types: 'public nurseries' operated by local authorities and 'private nurseries' operated by social welfare corporations, school corporations and private companies, just like the kindergarten system which we introduced in our last article.

Unauthorized Nursery School

Facilities that do not meet the minimum standards for child welfare facilities set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare are called unauthorized childcare centers. They include daycare centers and some other facilities offer night-time childcare. They must be operated in accordance with the Standards for the Guidance and Supervision of Unauthorized Childcare Facilities.

This is a list of the differences between authorized and unauthorized nurseries data sources: 認可外保育施設指導監督基準/厚生労働省 table is made by YUI

Free-of-charge system

Under the New System for Supporting Children and Childcare, created in 2015, in order to enroll a child in a nursery school under the new system, the child now needs to be accredited by the local authority. Accreditation is divided into three categories, No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, depending on the age of the child and the ”reason for needing childcare".

*One of the following "reasons for needing childcare" should be met: employment (full-time as well as part-time, night-time, in-home work, etc., at least 13 days and 48 hours per month); pregnancy, childbirth; illness or disability of the guardian; care or nursing of relatives living together or in hospital for a long period of time; disaster; job search (including preparation for entrepreneurship); schooling (including vocational training in vocational training etc.); potential for abuse or domestic violence; other situations deemed by the mayor. sources: 保育所・保育事業のご利用サポートブック

After understanding the Type 1,2 and 3 systems, parents can do a better decision on where their children should go. The same as the kindergarten free-of-charge system, the nursery school also has a similar remission system. For children aged 3 years and above (born between 2 April 2009 and 1 April 2020), the standard amount of levy (monthly) is 0 yen. For children under 3 years old (born 2 April 2020~), the standard amount of levy is different based on taxation. (You can find detailed information on this file "令和5年度の保育所及び認定こども園の保育料について " page 2 lists the tuition fees depending on the payment of tax)

In the case of Higashi-Hiroshima City

If you would like to send your child to a nursery school, you can refer to this file: "List of childcare facilities in Higashihiroshima City, 2023" which lists all the nursery schools in Higashi-Hiroshima City.

If you would like to know more about the free-of-charge system in Higashi-Hiroshima City and apply it, these files may help you "幼児教育・保育の無償化について". You can also do the online application, which all the links can be found on this site "令和5年度保育所（園）の電子申請による入所申込について"

If you would like to know more, please do not hesitate to contact me via comments, SNS, or email.

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References
認可外保育施設指導監督基準/厚生労働省
保育所の定義とは？認可保育所・認可外保育所・認証保育所の違い
東広島市における外国人居住分布と生活実態に関する考察

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