This page is general information from official sources. It is not medical or legal advice. For your own case, ask the children’s medical expense desk of the city or town where you live.
If you have children and live in Hiroshima Prefecture, your city or town pays part of their medical bills. You show a recipient card at the clinic and pay a small, fixed amount. The rules (ages, what you pay, income limits) differ by city, and Hiroshima City and Fukuyama City change theirs in January 2027. This page compares Hiroshima City, Fukuyama City, Kure City and Higashihiroshima City.
In short
- The subsidy is run by each city or town, not by Hiroshima Prefecture. You need a recipient card from the place where you live (section 1).
- From January 2027, Hiroshima City covers children up to high school age and drops its income limit. Families who were not covered must apply (section 2).
- Fukuyama City also covers high school age from January 1, 2027. The application form for newly covered high-school-age children is due on Friday, October 16, 2026 (section 3).
- Kure City and Higashihiroshima City already cover children up to high school age, with no income limit (sections 4 and 5).
- After a birth or a move, apply quickly. In Fukuyama, Kure and Higashihiroshima, applying after 14 days means coverage starts only from the day you apply.
Checked with official pages on October 5, 2026.
| City | Ages covered | Clinic visit: you pay | Income limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiroshima | Junior high; high school age from Jan 2027 | Up to ¥500–¥1,500 a day | Yes, until Dec 2026 |
| Fukuyama | Junior high; high school age from Jan 2027 | ¥500 a day, up to 4 days a month | No |
| Kure | High school age | ¥500 a day, up to 4 days a month | No |
| Higashihiroshima | Up to 3rd year of high school | ¥500 a day, up to 4 days a month | No |
“High school age” (高校生年代, kokosei nendai) means until March 31 after the child turns 18, whether or not the child goes to school. The day limits are per medical institution. Fees for a hospital stay are on a different scale (see each section).
1. How does the children’s medical subsidy work in Hiroshima Prefecture?
Hiroshima Prefecture
Hiroshima Prefecture says that to get the subsidy you need a recipient card (受給者証, jukyushasho) from your city or town, and asks you to contact your city office, town office or ward office. Once you have the card, show it with your child’s health insurance information (for example a My Number Card registered as a health insurance card) at a clinic, hospital or pharmacy in Hiroshima Prefecture. You then pay only the small fixed amount set by your city.
Costs that health insurance does not cover are never subsidized. The four cities name, for example, health checkups, vaccinations, the extra charge for a private hospital room, and meals during a hospital stay. If you see a doctor outside Hiroshima Prefecture, or pay without showing the card, you pay the normal amount and apply to your city afterward for a refund, with the receipt.
Children on another subsidy, such as the medical subsidy for single-parent families (ひとり親家庭等医療費) or public assistance (生活保護), are not covered by this one in Hiroshima City, Fukuyama City or Higashihiroshima City. Kure City tells families with a single-parent family or severe disability recipient card to use that card instead.
2. Hiroshima City: what changes in January 2027?
Hiroshima City
Hiroshima City calls the card the Children’s Medical Expenses Recipient Card. From care received in January 2027, the city covers children up to high school age (until March 31 after they turn 18) and removes the parent’s income limit. Until the end of December 2026, it covers children up to the 3rd year of junior high school, and families above the income limit are not covered.
If you already have a recipient card, you do not need to apply again; keep using it until it expires. Families with a newly covered high-school-age child, and families who were above the income limit, must apply. The main application period was August 3 to September 11, 2026, but the city still accepts applications after that. It plans to mail the new cards in late December.
How to apply in Hiroshima City
- Choose how to apply. Apply online through Mynaportal (マイナポータル) using the parent’s own My Number Card, by mail to your ward’s Welfare Division (福祉課, fukushika), or at your ward’s Welfare Division or a branch office.
- Use the right person’s name. The applicant is the parent who mainly supports the family. As a rule, this is the parent who receives the child allowance (児童手当, jido teate).
- Bring proof of your child’s health insurance if you apply at a counter, such as your child’s My Number Card used as a health insurance card, or an eligibility certificate (資格確認書, shikaku kakuninsho).
The same three ways are used after a birth or after moving into Hiroshima City. After a birth, the city’s ward Citizens Divisions (市民課) also accept the application when you register the birth. If a parent has just moved into the city, also bring something that shows the parent’s My Number. The city’s pages do not say whether help is available in English, and the city’s English page on this subsidy still describes the older rules, without the January 2027 change.
What do I pay in Hiroshima City?
In Hiroshima City, what you pay for a clinic visit depends on the parent’s income and on how many children you have.
- Income below the base amount: up to ¥500 a day, only on a first visit (初診, shoshin), up to 4 days a month. Return visits are free.
- Income at or above the base amount, 1st and 2nd child: preschool children pay up to ¥1,000 a day on a first visit, up to 2 days a month. Children in elementary school and older pay up to ¥1,500 a day on first and return visits, up to 2 days a month.
- 3rd child and later: the same as below the base amount. From January 2027, children are counted up to high school age.
A hospital stay, prescriptions at an outside pharmacy and home-visit nursing are free. The base amount is decided on the income of one parent (the main earner), not the household. With no dependents, the base amount is ¥2,952,000 and the income limit is ¥5,320,000; both go up by ¥380,000 for each dependent. Ask your ward’s Welfare Division how your own income is counted.
Note
From January 2027, if a child is injured at school or nursery and the school’s injury benefit from the Japan Sport Council can be used, Hiroshima City says you cannot use the recipient card. You pay the normal share first and claim the benefit through the school or nursery.
3. Fukuyama City: when is the application due?
Fukuyama City
Fukuyama City covers children up to the 3rd year of junior high school until December 31, 2026, and up to high school age from January 1, 2027. On September 14, 2026, the city mailed application forms to families with a newly covered high-school-age child. The form is due on Friday, October 16, 2026. If you send it late, your new card will arrive late.
- Fill in the form you received and sign it. Attach a copy of something that shows your child’s health insurance, such as the eligibility certificate (資格確認書). Do not attach a My Number Card.
- Send it back in the reply envelope, or apply online with the application number printed on the form.
- Wait for the card. The city plans to mail cards for January in mid-December.
If your child became newly eligible on or after September 7, 2026 (for example, after moving in), the city sends a form later. You can also apply at the Future Generation Development Division (みらい世代育成課) or a branch office before it arrives, but not online.
There has been no income limit since October 1, 2023. At each medical institution you pay ¥500 a day (or less, if the bill is under ¥500). After 4 clinic days or 14 hospital days in a month, the rest of that month at the same institution is free. Clinic and hospital days, and medical and dental care, are counted separately. Outside pharmacies and treatment aids such as glasses or a brace needed for treatment are free.
After a birth or a move into the city, apply within 14 days, counting from the next day. If you apply late, coverage starts from the day you apply and is not backdated. Apply at City Hall’s Future Generation Development Division or a branch office (weekdays 8:30–17:15), or online. Phone: 084-928-1070.
4. Kure City: what do I pay?
Kure City
Kure City covers children from birth until March 31 after they turn 18. There has been no income limit since October 1, 2023. At each medical institution you pay ¥500 a day, for up to 4 clinic days and 14 hospital days a month. So at one institution, the most you pay in a month is ¥2,000 for clinic visits and ¥7,000 for a hospital stay. If 20% or 30% of the bill is less than ¥500, you pay that amount instead.
After a birth or a move into the city, apply within 14 days, counting from the next day, and coverage starts from the birth or move-in date. After 14 days, it starts from the day you apply. You can apply on a smartphone through Kure City’s online child-rearing application (子育てオンライン申請), with or without a My Number Card. Cards for children in elementary school and older are not renewed; they last until March 31 after the child turns 18. Phone the Child Support Division (こども支援課): 0823-25-3173.
5. Higashihiroshima City: who is covered?
Higashihiroshima City
Since October 1, 2024, Higashihiroshima City covers clinic visits up to the 3rd year of high school (高校3年生相当) and has no income limit. You pay ¥500 a day per medical institution, for up to 4 clinic days and 14 hospital days a month. Prescriptions at a pharmacy and aids such as glasses are free. A child who has their own employee health insurance is not covered.
Apply within 14 days of a birth or a move. The city says to apply within 14 days even if you do not have all the papers yet, and to send the rest later. You can apply at the Child and Family Division (こども家庭課) or a branch office, by mail, or online (birth and move-in only). If you give the city your child’s health insurance details yourself, the card arrives in about 3 weeks; if you leave the check to the city, it takes about 3 months. Phone: 082-420-0941.
6. What about other cities and towns?
Hiroshima Prefecture
Hiroshima Prefecture publishes a table of all 23 cities and towns (as of April 1, 2026). In that table, 19 cover children until high school graduation; Hiroshima City, Fukuyama City, Fuchu Town and Kaita Town covered until junior high graduation. Otake City and Jinsekikogen Town have no copayment, and Hiroshima City is the only one with an income limit. Since then, Fuchu Town (府中町) has also announced that it will cover children until March 31 after they turn 18, from January 1, 2027. The prefecture asks you to contact your own city or town for details.
Common questions
Do I pay at the pharmacy?
For prescriptions filled at an outside pharmacy, Hiroshima City, Fukuyama City, Kure City and Higashihiroshima City all say there is no payment.
Are hospital meals covered?
No. In all four cities, meals during a hospital stay are not subsidized, and neither are costs outside health insurance, such as checkups, vaccinations and a private room.
We see a doctor outside Hiroshima Prefecture. What happens?
The recipient card is for medical institutions in Hiroshima Prefecture. Pay the normal share, keep the original receipt, and apply to your city for a refund. Hiroshima City and Fukuyama City list the papers to bring on their pages.
I already have a Hiroshima City card. Do I need to do anything for January 2027?
No application is needed. Hiroshima City says to keep using your current card until it expires. Some families, such as some junior high 3rd-year students and children newly counted as a 3rd child, get a new card by mail in late December 2026.
Next steps
Sources (checked October 2026)
- Hiroshima Prefecture: Infant medical expense subsidy and the list of 23 cities and towns (乳幼児医療費公費負担制度)
- Hiroshima City: Children’s medical expense subsidy (こども医療費補助制度) and Children’s Medical Expense Subsidy (English, older rules)
- Fukuyama City: Children’s medical expense subsidy (子ども医療費助成事業の概要について)
- Kure City (Kure Kosodate Net): Children’s medical expense subsidy (こども医療費助成制度)
- Higashihiroshima City: Children’s medical expense payments (こども医療費支給制度)
- Fuchu Town: Children’s medical expense subsidy (府中町子ども医療費助成制度)
