May I ask you a question? I was told today that a child born to a foreign mother and not registered by the Japanese father as his own (ninchi) was not entitled to the single mother's allowance. Is that true?

The Japanese word for Welfare office is Fukushimo Jimusho but in Tokyo it is more common to hear Kuyakusho no Fukushika, the welfare office at city hall.)

The Fukushika is often on the same floor right next to the Hoikuen section, since if a mother is working and can not care for her children then that means that she needs help which is what Japanese welfare generally boils down to, helping mothers/women, children and old people.

Plenty of single mothers in Japan don't want anything to do with the father and will keep his name secret, so obviously what you were told is total poppycock. Besides what if your child's father is not Japanese in which case he hasn't got a juminhyo? No matter, as long as you pay your taxes, and have a valid visa to live in Japan your child still has rights.

Now, the big question is... what are you referring to when you say "single mother's allowance"? There is a single mother's deduction on your Japanese income tax form (divorced, widowed or never married all fall into this category and I think it is currently 370,000 yen which is on top of your per child deduction).

Then there are several different welfare payments for support of children whose fathers do not support them for whatever reason provided that the mother's income is below a certain amount. They come from different governments but are often all administered through your local city hall. For example, if you live in Toshima-ku, Tokyo, you would go to Toshima Kuyakusho no Fukushika and register there for the local ward assistance and ALSO for the Tokyo City assistance and ALSO the Japanese National assistance (if there is any). Also you may qualify for additional support from National Health Insurance (if you belong to it). All children are fully covered 100% up to the age of 3 regardless of family income. This is a testament to the healthy-start-for-all-children policy of the Japanese government. There is no financial burden for taking your kid to see a pediatrician the first three years of its life so you have no financial excuse not to, if you subscribe to the National Health Insurance.

Well, if you qualify as a single mother with a sufficiently low income (the qualifying threshold varies depending on which benefit you are applying for and from year to year as the governments adjust the numbers to try to save money during these cash-strapped times) your child may be covered 100% all the way up to age 18. AND you as the mother may also get a reduced co-payment (normally around 30% but if you are in this program it is reduced to either a fixed fee or a much lower percentage).

By the way, if you don't apply, you'll get nothing. They don't come to your door asking if you'd like to join. So in this case, ignorance is definitely not useful to you.

OH YES, and in Tokyo there is a 5000 yen per month/per child (up to the age of ?) payment which even married couples with low incomes can benefit from and this one has a pretty high ceiling. I have got to dig out this piece of paper.

Additional programs include help with purchasing school supplies, home helper support in emergencies, etc. The problem is that a lot of this support requires advance knowledge on your part. There are often no retro-active payments. Also, if you live in a small village where everyone can see you applying for welfare there might be some comments behind your back (good thing I don't understand a word of it, neh!).

Were you able to dig up that piece of paper on the 5000 yen/month/child payment? I'd be interested in that...
K

I put something on the 5000 yen per month over in the "cost of birth" conversation under Health Issues/Pregnancy. The benefit is good until the age of six. The first two children get Y5000 each per month and the third child gets Y10,000 per month! It's not clear if all the children have to be 6 or under at the same time for the 3rd child to get the higher amount though.
http://www.tokyowithkids.com/discussions/messages/35/490.html
Also, this applies to all of Japan, not just Tokyo.

Child-rearing allowance cuts tough on single mothers

Aya Tamura
TOKYO EThe government plan to slash child-rearing allowances for single mothers is likely to make life difficult for them and their children.
The lifeline for such families will be tightened in August when the government will limit the allowances to families with an annual income of less than 1.3 million yen.
The allowances will be reduced by 2,000 yen for every 10,000 yen increase in annual income above the 1.3 million yen line and in five years' time the allowances will be reduced by up to 50% the current amount.
With the economy showing no signs of getting out of the recession, the measure is certain to deal a heavy blow to the already vulnerable families.
The stories of two battered women who fled their abusive husbands illustrates how much such women and their children depend on the government allowances.
Shortly after Akina (not her real name) got married seven years ago, her husband quit his job as a taxi driver without telling her.
"You're a liar. I want to divorce," Akina told her husband, to which he responded by beating her so severely that he broke her ribs and she was bed-ridden for one month. He had wrapped his hand in a towel to protect his fist as he delivered the blows.
"I wanted to divorce immediately. But couldn't...because my parents were sick," said Akina, now 31 years old.
Her father was in a wheelchair and her mother was suffering from heart trouble and the doctor said she had only "two years" to live.
Akina then leaped at her husband's seemingly kind offer that she can "be a full-time housewife and take care of her parents" and she and her husband moved into the same apartment as her parents.
At first, her husband would not let Akina go out freely. But after he used up Akina's savings, he agreed that she could work part-time. But two weeks after she started working at a pet chop, Akina realized she was pregnant.
Her husband stopped kicking her in the stomach and began beating her on the face. When she tried to shield her face, he became more infuriated and beat her again and again, saying, "How come you don't protect your stomach? You lack a sense of maternal responsibility."
The husband's abuse was well-known in the neighborhood and one neighbor told Akina's father "to do something to stop" it. But all her father did was tell her, "Don't cry out. The neighbors are complaining."
It was after the birth of their first son that the husband had his certificate of residence transferred to the local municipal office. Soon afterward, the family began to receive persistent letters from several consumer finance companies.
The husband began working as a salesman. Since his salary was on a commission basis, the husband purchased lots of the merchandise he deals in with loans from the company he worked for. In the end, he was fired.
It was around this time that Akina found out about the system of allowances for dependent children. "If the system is available, I can live with my child," she thought.
Akina gave birth to a second baby in January 2000. The next month, her father died. Her mother had already passed away.
After the funeral, the husband stole her late father's savings and went into hiding with a mistress. She thought it was "a good chance" and took refuge in a shelter with her children.
Now, Akina works at a day-care center as an assistant. She has a monthly income of 100,000 yen but has to pay 60,000 yen for rent.
She counts on a monthly child-rearing allowance of 47,370 yen. "For a woman threatened with domestic violence, this (allowance) gives me a faint glimmer of hope," says Akina. But now the allowance will be cut this summer.
Mika (also not her real name) also divorced her abusive husband and now faces a cut in the child-rearing allowance. The 37-year-old resident of Nagoya City, however, is determined to get alimony or child support from her ex- husband to compensate for the reduced allowance.
One day last autumn, Mika was angered at a newspaper report that the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare plans to cut child-rearing allowances for single mothers in a bid to reduce rising social security outlays caused by increasing divorce rates, and instead focus on measures to help single mothers find employment.
"The government is definitely wrong. The allowances have been supporting the life of fatherless families," Mika said.
Mika got divorced in 1993, taking her 3-year-old girl and a 7-month baby boy with her.
Her former husband had been completely absorbed in pachinko games and his debts kept mounting. When she complained about this, the husband would say, "Don't poke your nose in men's dreams."
Not only that, he demanded money by threatening her with violence. Mika was a full-time housewife in those days.
It was around this time that Mika found out about the allowances for single mothers. After she realized that she was eligible to receive a monthly allowance of about 50,000 yen for the two children, she decided to get a divorce. She left the home with the children, rented an apartment and started working at a supermarket.
She planned to pay about 70,000 yen in rent with the child support to be paid by her ex-husband. But a family court awarded child support of only 30,000 yen a month for the two children.
Having been placed in such a predicament, Mika changed her job in order to move into a low-rent apartment run by the municipal government. But her new employer fired her as part of company restructuring. Mika tried to become a full-time employee at a different company. However, for a single mother like Mika, finding a full-time job is next to impossible.
When she telephoned a company and said hers was a fatherless family, the company hung up the phone saying, "we are not looking for new employees."
At another company, a job interviewer said to her, "Why don't you make a living in the water trade?" The water trade is a Japanese euphemism for the sex industry.
On yet another occasion, a company president told her a "mother ought to be home when children come home." All told, Mika phoned 23 different companies and had job interviews at 12, but was rejected by them all.
"Are the people who drafted the proposed legislation aware of this discrimination?" Mika angrily said.
While she was out of work, Mika went to vocational school for six months. She passed 13 different certification examinations in one year. When she passed the most difficult exam, she bought a gold certification card as a memento. It is still one of her treasures.
Although most single mothers are making desperate efforts, like Mika, divorced fathers are reluctant to pay child support.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, in only 20.8% of fatherless households, did the ex-husband pay child support in 1998.
Mika's former husband is no exception and he was often behind in child-support payments. She had to ask a family court more than 10 times to issue a recommendation that he perform his obligation.
In 1998, the family court approved her claim for increasing the child support to 40,000 yen a month. However, the whereabouts of her ex-husband has been unknown since he incurred a huge amount of debts to consumer finance companies and was fired from his job.
Mika says she will never give up. "I am determined to collect (child support) by a seeking a court order or compulsory execution that are more binding than a recommendation. I intend to ask the court to attach it his salary."
The "Outline of Self-sufficiency Support Measures for Fatherless Families" that was announced by the health and welfare ministry in March this year stipulates that a divorced father has an obligation to contribute to the cost of raising his children.
But, it remains to be seen whether the stipulation will be effective or not. (Kyodo News)
May 24, 2002

This came in from Tanna Fowler:
------------
I was looking through the monthly Nakano ward newspaper and thought I would share an interesting item with you. (I am referring to Nakano ward in Tokyo, which is where I live.)

*** From Nakano Kuhou 6/23/02 No. 1554

Women's Welfare Fund Loans
Nakano will lend money to women in order to aid in their economic independence.
Requirements:
(1) Female and have lived in Nakano over 6 months
(2) Not married or not receiving support from husband
(3a) Supporting a parent, child, or sibling
*or*
(3b) Not supporting a parent, child, or sibling and prior year's income is less than 3,580,000 yen and over age 25
(4) Not receiving similar funding from other sources
Possible Loan Uses: Business start-up funds, Funds to acquire technical qualifications, Job searching-related expenses, Housing, Relocating, Living Expenses, School expenses
Amount: Depends on the type/purpose of funding
Interest Rate: No-interest or 1% depending on fund
Lending period: Based on fund, ranges from 2 to 20 years

A Guarantor is required for all loans and other conditions may apply.
*****

Anyway, I thought this was pretty cool, except for the guarantor and "other conditions" part. There are so many resources people (Japanese and foreign) are not aware of. Any errors in the translation are my own.

Tanna Fowler

P.S. In the same newspaper, but on a less "single mom"-relevant note:
** Recycled bicycles for sale by lottery for \8,900
(This happens every month, approximately 30 or so refurbished bikes are sold. Offer only valid for people who live, work or go to school in Nakano.)

By the way yesterday I heard from a friend that some underground lines were completeley free for single mothers. Did you know that ? I have a 30% discount on my JR pass too.

I used 'boshikatei' and 'koutsuu' to do a search on the internet in Japanese regarding single mother transportation discounts. I found there are some cities and wards - Osaka, Setagaya-ku, others? that offer discounts on JR, free bus passes, stuff like that. I guess its another thing to ask the fukushi people at the ward office about.

Karen,
I picked up the sheet from the ward office again recently. In answer to your question above from 14 March:

Jidou Teate (child allowance?)
5000 yen benefit per month up to age 6 is called jidou teate
income qualification threshold depends on pension type and is based on combined incomes of both parents or only one parent if a single parent household
'Nenkin' = pension

Figures good as of 1 August 2002.
A -- Self-employed or student, etc. qualification threshold is lower.
B -- workers (salary man) qualification threshold is higher
A - zero child..............B - zero child
Y3,010,000/year.........Y4,600,000/year
A - one child...............B - one child
Y3,390,000/year.........Y4,980,000/year
A - two children..........B - two children
Y3,770,000/year.........Y5,360,000/year
Add Y380,000/year to both A and B for each additional child.

No, I do not understand the benefit for "zero" children. If someone can find out and explain it ???

I asked the fukushi people at my ward office about the transportation benefit. There's a pile of these simple one page pamphlets right there on their counter that explain 3 benefits that I had not known of until now. IF you can read Japanese you are all set. ;-)

Here is a summary of the three benefits as explained in Bunkyo ward, Tokyo. Similar benefits are undoubtedly available in other cities:

JR 30% reduction on commuter pass. IF your commuter pass is paid for by your company, great, no worries, but if you've been paying it out of your own pocket, this could be a big deal. Each family member in a family that is receiving the Jido fuyo teate benefit (child support allowance) is entitled to get a special ID issued at the ward office which they can then use to get their commuter passes at the JR station. You will need a 4cm x 3 cm picture, an ID (shomeisho)and some time. Go to the Jidofuyoteate section at your city hall, fill out the form if you qualify and wait a few minutes. They will make a card for each person you've applied for.

Free rides on all TOEI transportaion lines which includes several subway lines, many of the buses running in Tokyo and the Toden Arakawa street car line.
Again bring a picture, your ID, and do as above for JR benefit. The only difference is that only one person in the household is allowed to get the free pass which is good for one year which runs from 1 October to the end of September. Here is their web site in English: http://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/english/index.html



Free base water fee. IF your water meter is for your apartment only and in your name, you can get the basic water fee for free, and only have to pay the extra water you may use. (Water bills come every two months.) Again you have to fill out a form at the same desk in your city hall as listed above.

Someone I know go the water benefit not by going to the city hall but by going straight to the local water department office. They had to show the card that proves they are a recipient of the child welfare benefit.

Here is a list of all their offices (TOKYO):
http://www.waterworks.metro.tokyo.jp/eng/tws/ws_01.htm

An article about the new law from June 2002:
"State targets single moms in bid to fight divorce rate

In reaction to the growing number of divorces in Japan, the government said Friday it will restrict single mothers' eligibility to receive child-care benefits. As a result of the day's Cabinet decision to amend an ordinance on child-care benefits, single mothers will have to be earning far less in order to be eligible for the maximum monthly benefit. The restriction will be effective Aug. 1.

Furthermore, 80 percent of child support paid by fathers will also be counted in the annual income of single-mother households. Under the current system, such support is not factored in when calculating annual income.

A tax deduction for widows will also be eliminated.

To be eligible for the maximum 42,370 yen monthly benefit for a household comprising a mother and one child, for example, the woman's annual income will have to be less than 1.3 million yen after Aug. 1.

Benefits will be cut at a rate of 170 yen for each 10,000 yen earned in excess of the 1.3 million yen annual income cap.

Currently, a single mother earning less than 2,048,000 yen is eligible for full benefits.

Also, single mothers earning between 1.3 million yen and 3 million yen are eligible at present to receive a flat rate of 28,350 yen per month.

This flat-rate allowance will be replaced by a pro rata scheme that covers incomes up to 3.65 million yen.

The number of divorces has almost doubled in Japan since 1990, and the total amount of child-care allowances paid by the government has increased to 260 billion yen from 220 billion yen in the past decade, according to government
statistics.

In fiscal 2000, about 620,000 people received allowances due to divorce, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. This represents nearly 90 percent of the total number of people who received child-care allowances. The total amount paid out stood at about 260 billion yen, it added.

The announced change has been met with outrage by critics, who say it will place additional burdens on people who are already in financially unstable positions.

But the government has countered by pointing out that it has submitted related bills, such as those placing priority on helping children in single-mother households to enter nurseries and providing subsidies to business owners who employ women raising children on their own."

Source: The Japan Times: June 8, 2002

Jidou Fuyou Teate (Child Support Benefit for Single Parents) 2006 April 1:
The new base figures have been published for calculating benefit eligibility for child support payments from the National government (implemented via your local city Mother and Child Welfare desk. The maximum benefit per month has been reduced slightly (from Y41,880 to Y41,720), and a multiplyer in the calculation of the benefit had been been decreased slightly (from 0.0184913 to 0.0184162). For example, children who were receiving Y30,740 per month through the end of March, will see a decrease in the benefit to Y30,620 per month starting April 2006.
The flyer is available by fax for those interested. Email request to me and include a fax number.
I can not tell from this document if the benefit is equal across all of Japan or if it is weighted for local economic variations.

This year they are doing something new with the TOEI transportation lines pass for single parents below a certain income (read post above dated 2002 Sep 25). There is no photo required, because they are making them so that they can go through the ticket gate machines. At the moment you still have to flash the pass through the gate staffed by a real person, but sometime next year (by March?) you will be able to go through the ticket gates with everyone else.

my auntie is married to a japanese man who recently died,they have only one daughter 11 years of age,now that his husband died how can she able to feed their needs if she doesn't have work eversince.what is the best thing she could do to support thier needs? is she able to apply for single mother and child support? what is the best option?