Childbirth and Postpartum Support in Ehime: Birth Household Support of Up to ¥300,000 in Matsuyama, Imabari and Niihama, and Postpartum Care Prices

This page summarizes each city’s published guidance. For your own case, ask the city office listed at the end of the page.

If you have a baby in Ehime, the national benefits (the childbirth lump-sum and the pregnancy support benefit) are the same amount in all 3 cities, but the “birth household support” run jointly by the prefecture and the city takes a completely different form in each city. Matsuyama subsidizes the cost of baby goods and appliances you buy, up to ¥300,000; Imabari gives up to ¥200,000 in PayPay vouchers; and Niihama gives ¥100,000 in cash plus ¥50,000 in vouchers. This page lines up Matsuyama, Imabari and Niihama, together with how to get pregnancy checkups and postpartum care and what they cost.

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What you can receive in Ehime’s 3 cities from pregnancy to age 1

The national benefits are the same in all 3 cities: the childbirth lump-sum is ¥500,000 per child, and the pregnancy support benefit is ¥50,000 during pregnancy plus ¥50,000 times the number of children after birth. Coupons for checkups and paper diaper coupons are also issued in all 3 cities.

Subsidies for children’s medical costs are on the Japanese page Children’s medical cost subsidies in 6 Ehime cities (Japanese), and places to leave a sick child are on the Japanese page Sick-child care in Ehime (Japanese).

Birth household support differs in the 3 cities: purchases in Matsuyama, PayPay in Imabari, cash in Niihama

Even though it is a joint project of the prefecture and the city, how you receive it and the deadline differ: a subsidy for what you buy in Matsuyama, PayPay vouchers in Imabari, and ¥100,000 in cash plus ¥50,000 in vouchers in Niihama.

Matsuyama’s “Birth Household Support Project” subsidizes the cost of baby goods and time-saving and energy-saving appliances bought between the day you received your maternal and child health handbook and the deadline. The cap is ¥300,000 if both parents were 35 or younger on the birth date, and ¥200,000 if either is 36 or older. For receipts, households with the ¥300,000 cap only need to submit ¥200,000 worth, and households with the ¥200,000 cap ¥100,000 worth. A notice postcard arrives around the end of the month after the birth, and you can apply at the counter (Childcare Support Division, Birth Household Benefit Room, 4th floor of the City Hall annex), by mail or online. For children born in fiscal 2026 the deadline is February 26, 2027, and for children born in March 2027 and similar cases, the city asks you to wait until around late March when the fiscal 2027 budget is decided. The subsidy is treated as occasional income, and you need to file a tax return if it exceeds the special deduction (up to ¥500,000). Matsuyama City: Birth Household Support Project (Japanese) / Matsuyama City: deadline for fiscal 2026 births (Japanese)

Imabari’s “Kodomo ga Mannaka Support Coupons” give households raising a child under 1 PayPay vouchers worth ¥180,000 per child (¥200,000 if both parents were 35 or younger at birth). You must have been registered as a resident of Imabari for 3 months or more, and you apply by smartphone through the form you are told about when you register the birth. The vouchers can be used at registered shops for infant items such as towels, hygiene products, nursing supplies, strollers, clothing and toys. For children born in fiscal 2026 the application deadline is May 23, 2027, and the vouchers can be used until the end of the fiscal year after the year of birth. Imabari City: Kodomo ga Mannaka Support Coupons (Imakoso Imabari) (Japanese)

Niihama’s “Birth Household Support Benefit” has two parts: a cash benefit and the “Hello! NEW Baby support coupons”. The cash benefit is ¥100,000 if both parents were 35 or younger on the birth date and ¥99,000 if either is 36 or older, and no receipts are needed. You apply at the Children’s Future Division counter by the day before the child’s 1st birthday, with the application form, a bankbook and the maternal and child health handbook. The coupons are a flat ¥50,000 (50 coupons of ¥1,000), usable at registered shops for baby goods and time-saving and energy-saving appliances, until the end of the fiscal year after the year of birth. Niihama City: Birth Household Support Benefit (Japanese)

Households with a second or later child get “Egaokko support coupons” (paper diaper coupons worth ¥50,000, 50 coupons of ¥1,000) in all 3 cities. They can be used at registered shops in the city for paper diapers from 3 prefectural companies (Kao Merries, Daio Paper Goo.N and Unicharm Moony Mamy Poko), and not for wipes or training pants. You apply by the day before the child’s 1st birthday, and the coupons expire at the end of the fiscal year after the year they were issued. Matsuyama City: Egaokko coupons (Japanese) / Imabari City: Egaokko coupons (Japanese) / Niihama City: Egao no Kosodate support project (Japanese)

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Apply for the pregnancy support benefit at your interview; Imabari and Niihama allow 2 years

The national “support benefit for pregnant women” is ¥50,000 per pregnant woman the first time, and ¥50,000 times the number of children carried the second time, so ¥100,000 for twins. You apply for the first payment at the interview when you submit the pregnancy notification, and for the second at the baby visit after birth. Miscarriage and stillbirth are also covered.

According to Imabari and Niihama, the deadline is 2 years from the day the fetal heartbeat was confirmed at a medical institution for the first payment, and 2 years from the day 8 weeks before the due date for the second. The money is paid about 1 month after the month of application in Imabari and about 2 months after in Niihama. Matsuyama also accepts applications online and by mail, besides the Sukusuku Support counter. Matsuyama City: pregnancy support benefit (Japanese) / Imabari City: support benefit for pregnant women (Japanese) / Niihama City: support benefit for pregnant women (Japanese)

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Pregnancy checkups: 14 coupons, used at the counter in the prefecture, refunds outside it

In all 3 cities you receive coupons for 14 pregnancy checkups together with your maternal and child health handbook, usable at contracted medical institutions in the prefecture (5 more for women pregnant with multiples in Matsuyama and Niihama). Coupons for 2 postpartum checkups (around 2 weeks and 1 month after birth) and 1 pregnancy dental checkup are also issued in all 3 cities.

Matsuyama states the subsidy for each checkup. In fiscal 2026 it is ¥24,680 for the 1st, ¥6,310 for the 2nd, ¥4,940 for the 3rd, ¥10,090 for the 4th, ¥11,570 for the 5th and up to ¥5,000 for each of the remaining 9. Using all 14 gives up to ¥102,590 (our calculation). The postpartum checkup is up to ¥5,000 a time, and the pregnancy dental checkup is free at registered medical institutions in the city. Tests above the cap are paid by you. Matsuyama City: general pregnancy checkups (Japanese) / Matsuyama City: postpartum checkups (Japanese)

If you go to a medical institution outside the prefecture, for example when returning to your family home to give birth, the coupons cannot be used, so you pay the full amount and apply for a refund later. The deadline is within 1 year of the birth date in Imabari and Niihama, and within 6 months of the last checkup for postpartum checkups in Matsuyama. You need the original receipts and any unused coupons. In Niihama, pregnancy dental checkups taken outside the city are eligible for a refund. Imabari City: for those having checkups outside the prefecture (Japanese) / Niihama City: subsidy for checkups at medical institutions outside the prefecture (Japanese)

Matsuyama and Niihama have a subsidy of up to ¥10,000 for the first visit to confirm a pregnancy, for households exempt from city residence tax and similar households. In Matsuyama you need to consult the Sukusuku Support Division beforehand (by phone or in person). Matsuyama City: subsidy for the first obstetric visit (Japanese) / Niihama City: subsidy for pregnancy test visits (Japanese)

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The childbirth lump-sum is ¥500,000; with the direct payment system you pay only the difference

The childbirth lump-sum is ¥500,000 per child, or ¥488,000 for births at a facility not enrolled in the obstetric compensation system and similar cases. It is paid by the city if you are in National Health Insurance, and by your insurer if you are in an employer’s health insurance. If the hospital has a “direct payment system” contract, the lump-sum is paid straight to the hospital and you pay at the counter only the amount above ¥500,000. If the cost was less than ¥500,000, you can apply for the difference, which is paid to the head of the household.

In Matsuyama the National Health Insurance application deadline is 2 years from the day after the birth, and applications are accepted at the Insurance Benefits and Pension Division on the 3rd floor of the City Hall annex, the Welfare Notification Corner on the 1st floor of the main building and branch offices, and by mail. Imabari states that for National Health Insurance, a birth at 12 weeks or more and under 22 weeks of pregnancy is ¥488,000. Matsuyama City: childbirth lump-sum (National Health Insurance) (Japanese) / Imabari City: childbirth lump-sum (National Health Insurance) (Japanese) / Niihama City: direct payment system for the childbirth lump-sum (Japanese)

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Postpartum care costs ¥3,000 to ¥4,000 per overnight stay; all 3 cities require an advance application

Postpartum care is a service in which midwives and others check the health of mother and baby and breastfeeding. For households paying residence tax the fee is ¥3,000 per overnight stay (¥4,000 in Matsuyama), half for exempt households, and free for households on public assistance. In every city you must apply to the city before using it, and the city decides on your use before you choose a facility and a day.

The table shows the fee per use for households paying residence tax. The number of uses is up to 7 in total across overnight, day and home visits in Matsuyama, and up to 7 times (days) in total for overnight and day use in Imabari and Niihama, with home visits counted separately at up to 7 times (days).

In Matsuyama, overnight care is in principle from 10:00 to 10:00 the next day with 3 meals, day care is from 10:00 to 18:00 with lunch, and home visits take about 2 to 3 hours. For overnight and day care you apply at least 7 days before use (excluding days the offices are closed) after an interview with a public health nurse at the Sukusuku Support counter. Overnight and day care are at 8 facilities in the city and 1 midwife clinic in Uwajima, of which 5 offer overnight stays, generally until the baby is under 4 months old. For home visits you apply only for the first one, and book directly with the contracted midwife from the second. You are asked to prepare a place for the midwife’s car, and if you use a coin parking lot you pay for it. Matsuyama City: postpartum care (Japanese)

In Imabari, overnight care is available at Kira Hospital and Ehime Prefectural Imabari Hospital (babies under 4 months), day care at Kira Hospital and Maple Midwife Clinic, and home visits at Maple Midwife Clinic and Yu Midwife Clinic (babies under 1 year). Day care runs from 10:00 to 16:00 with 1 meal. You apply at least 7 days before use (excluding days the offices are closed) online through “Imabari Tenohira City Hall”. Services are closed on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and over the New Year, but overnight care is available on weekends and holidays too. For postpartum care outside the city or prefecture, such as at your family home, part of the cost is refunded for use from August 1, 2026 with advance application (apply within 6 months of the last day of use). Imabari City: postpartum care (Japanese)

In Niihama there are two kinds of day care: Type A (8 hours) at ¥1,600 and Type B (6 hours) at ¥1,200. A home visit is ¥300 per hour, or ¥150 for up to 30 minutes. You apply at least 2 days (city office working days) before the day you want to use it, by phone or online to the Health Center; online applications are accepted from after the birth. In the facility list updated October 8, 2026, the only facility accepting overnight stays is Saijo Central Hospital in Saijo City (babies under 4 months), and 2 clinics in the city have stopped accepting. Day care is offered by Ehime Rosai Hospital, Juzen General Hospital, Yurikago Family Clinic, Saijo Central Hospital and the prenatal and postpartum care house FUWARI, and home visits by Ehime Rosai Hospital, Yurikago Family Clinic and 4 midwife clinics. Niihama City: postpartum care (Japanese)

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Helpers for housework: Imabari from pregnancy, and for multiples in Matsuyama and Niihama too

Imabari’s “Childcare Support Helper” can be used from pregnancy, at ¥1,000 an hour for households paying residence tax with a child up to the end of the fiscal year in which the child turns 3. It is ¥500 for exempt households and free for households on public assistance, up to 2 hours a time and twice a day, for 30 hours within the registration period. You must register as a user beforehand. Imabari City: Childcare Support Helper dispatch (Japanese)

For families expecting or raising twins or more, Matsuyama and Niihama also have support. Matsuyama gives childcare and housework service tickets (up to ¥2,500 each), counted as 4 tickets a month for twins, until the day before the child’s 3rd birthday. Niihama dispatches supporters up to 10 times during pregnancy and up to 20 times a year after birth, for ¥0 to ¥1,500 depending on the household category and the time. Matsuyama City: support for mothers of multiples (Japanese) / Niihama City: supporter dispatch for mothers of multiples (Japanese)

Things to know when choosing in Ehime

The birth household support is a project of the prefecture and the city using the prefecture’s “Ehime Population Decline Countermeasures Comprehensive Grant”. For that reason, a household that received the same benefit in another city or town in the prefecture cannot receive it in the city it moved to. Imabari requires 3 months or more of resident registration, Niihama requires at least half a year from the application, and Matsuyama also requires your intention to keep living there for 1 year or more.

Subsidies for families who travel to distant hospitals for checkups and the birth also differ by city. Niihama subsidizes ¥1,500 to ¥5,000 a day (up to ¥200,000 per household a year) for pregnant women and others who go to a hospital roughly 50 km or more from home. Ehime University Hospital and Ehime Prefectural Central Hospital in Matsuyama are given as examples of 50 km or more, and the fiscal 2026 application deadline is March 31, 2027. Niihama City: transport subsidy for hospital visits for childbirth and childcare (Japanese)

Imabari subsidizes up to 7 round trips (14 rides) of taxi fares in the city used for checkups and delivery from the 36th week of pregnancy until after birth. The cap per one-way ride is set by the district where you live: ¥1,100 to ¥2,900 in the former city school districts, and ¥7,500 to ¥14,700 in the branch-office areas of Oshima, Hakatajima and Omishima, where the Shimanami Kaido toll is also covered when you ride from an island. You apply once a year, by the end of the fiscal year. Imabari City: taxi fare subsidy for birth support (Japanese)

Matsuyama also subsidizes up to 14 nights of lodging for pregnant women living on the city’s remote islands, such as Nakajima and Gogoshima, while they wait for the birth near a delivery facility in Matsuyama or Toon. The subsidy for one night with no meals is the lodging cost (capped at ¥10,000) plus ¥2,400 minus ¥2,000. Matsuyama City: lodging subsidy for pregnant women on remote islands (Japanese)

The offices are, in Matsuyama, the Children and Family Center Sukusuku Support Division (089-911-1821, postpartum care) and the Childcare Support Division (089-948-6016, birth household support); in Imabari, the Neuvola Promotion Division (0898-36-1553); and in Niihama, the Health Center (0897-35-1070) and the Children’s Future Division (0897-65-1242).

Sources

11 pages we checkedShow

• Matsuyama City: Birth Household Support Project
• Imabari City: Kodomo ga Mannaka Support Coupons
• Niihama City: Birth Household Support Benefit
• Matsuyama City: general pregnancy checkups
• Matsuyama City: postpartum care
• Imabari City: postpartum care
• Niihama City: postpartum care
• Matsuyama City: childbirth lump-sum (National Health Insurance)
• Imabari City: support benefit for pregnant women
• Niihama City: support benefit for pregnant women
• Japanese version of this page (日本語版)

Checked with official pages on October 19, 2026 (Japan time).