Free school lunch and high school tuition support in Tokyo (2026–27)

This page is general information from official sources. It is not legal or financial advice. Eligibility depends on your ward, your child’s school, your status of residence and your income. For your own case, ask the school lunch section of your ward or the Tokyo Private School Tuition Support Center.

If you are moving to Tokyo with school-age children, two costs often come up: school lunch at elementary and junior high school, and tuition at a private high school. In Japan the school year and the government’s fiscal year both run from April to March, so “fiscal 2026” means April 2026 to March 2027. Lunch support is decided by your ward (区, ku), the city where you have your resident registration (住民登録, jumin toroku). High school tuition support comes from the national government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

In short

In Setagaya, Nerima, Edogawa, Adachi and Ota, lunch at ward-run elementary and junior high schools is free in fiscal 2026. You do not apply (section 1).
Children at private or international schools: Edogawa pays lunch money for them, and Setagaya plans to from February 2027 (section 2).
At a private high school, national and Tokyo support together cover tuition up to ¥501,000 a year in fiscal 2026, if you live in Tokyo (sections 4 and 5).
For students of foreign nationality, which national program applies, and whether income is checked, depends on the status of residence (section 4).
High school support is applied for after the student starts school, every year, in two separate applications (June and July in 2026).

Checked with official pages on October 12, 2026.

What does each program cover?

Japan, Tokyo and your ward

Free school lunch is a ward program, so it changes when you move to another ward. High school tuition support can be used at private high schools inside or outside Tokyo, but Tokyo’s part needs a Tokyo address.

Program	Amount (fiscal 2026)	Apply?
Lunch at ward schools	Free in the 5 wards	No
Lunch money, private schools	Edogawa and Setagaya only*	Yes, to the ward
National tuition support	Up to ¥457,200 a year**	Yes, through the school
Tokyo tuition grant	Up to ¥501,000 in total	Yes, online

* Setagaya starts paying in February 2027 (planned). ** For a full-time or part-time private high school. Some students of foreign nationality get a different, income-based amount (section 4).

1. Is school lunch free at ward schools?

Setagaya, Nerima, Edogawa, Adachi and Ota

Yes, in the five wards we checked. Each ward pays the lunch cost for children at its own elementary and junior high schools (区立小・中学校, kuritsu sho-chugakko), and the school does not collect lunch money. You do not need to apply. Other school costs, such as teaching materials (教材費, kyozaihi), are still collected by the school.

The ward pages set no condition for this other than being a pupil at a ward school. This guide covers five of the 23 wards. If you live in another ward or a city in western Tokyo, check your own city’s school lunch page.

Ward	Ward schools	Extra support
Setagaya	Free since April 2023	Private schools (planned)
Nerima	Free	Long absence; special needs schools
Edogawa	Free since September 2023	Private and international schools; long absence
Adachi	Free since 2023	Packed lunch every day
Ota	Free in fiscal 2026	Packed lunch every day

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government helps wards and cities pay for this. From fiscal 2026 it works together with a new national grant. Tokyo’s plan document gives the national base amount as ¥5,200 a month per child, using a mid-grade elementary pupil as the example.

School lunch sections: Setagaya 03-5432-2697, Nerima 03-5984-5736, Edogawa 03-5662-1626, Adachi 03-3880-5975, Ota 03-5744-1431.

2. My child goes to a private or international school. Is there lunch money?

Depends on your ward

Free lunch at ward schools does not reach children at private, national or international schools. In fiscal 2026 Tokyo started paying half of the cost when a ward gives these families a lunch payment. Whether your ward pays, and when, is the ward’s decision.

2.1 Edogawa City: ¥315–¥400 per meal, international schools included

Edogawa City

Edogawa pays the same amount as a ward school lunch: ¥315 to ¥355 per meal for elementary school and ¥400 for junior high school. The amount is based on the months your child is registered and the standard number of lunches at ward schools. The child must be registered as living in Edogawa on the 1st of the month and be born between April 2, 2011 and April 1, 2020.

The ward’s FAQ lists who is covered: children at private schools, children on a ward school’s roll who attend an international school, and children of foreign nationality who are not enrolled at any school. Children whose school already gives free lunch, or who get the same support from another program, are not covered. Children who take a packed lunch or use a school cafeteria are covered.

Wait for the next application round. The first round for fiscal 2026 closed on Friday, September 11, 2026. The ward plans three rounds in the year and will announce the dates of the others.
Apply on the ward’s online form. The form (LoGoフォーム, LoGo form) is in Japanese. One application covers one child.
If you cannot use the form, apply on paper. Bring the application form (申請書兼請求書) to the ward, or send it by registered mail (簡易書留). Add a photo ID of the parent, such as a residence card or passport, and a copy of your bank book.

For help in a foreign language, the ward’s page gives its Multicultural Center: 03-3877-3841, 10:00 to 16:30. The center takes calls Tuesday to Saturday, but the ward asks you to call Tuesday to Friday, because the ward office is closed on weekends. The page does not list the languages. The ward also has a flyer for this payment in English and Chinese, linked on the same page.

2.2 Setagaya City: ¥6,700 or ¥8,100 a month, planned

Setagaya City

Setagaya plans to pay ¥6,700 a month for elementary school and ¥8,100 a month for junior high school, for 11 months (August excluded). That is ¥73,700 or ¥89,100 for the year. The child must be registered as a Setagaya resident, be in grade 1 of elementary school to grade 3 of junior high school, and not be enrolled at a Setagaya ward school.

The ward will pick eligible families from its records and mail application forms in January 2027. You can apply online or on paper, and payment is planned to start in February 2027. The key date is December 1, 2026. The ward assembly passed the budget for this payment on September 29, 2026. The amounts and dates above are from the ward’s paper of September 1, 2026, and are still marked as planned. The paper does not say how it treats international schools, so ask the ward.

2.3 Nerima, Adachi and Ota

We did not find a lunch payment for children at private schools on the official pages of these three wards. Check your ward’s school lunch page for new notices.

3. My child takes a packed lunch or does not eat school lunch

Depends on your ward

Some children cannot eat school lunch because of a food allergy, religion or a long absence. Some wards pay the lunch cost to these families. In Adachi and Ota, only a full packed lunch every day counts; if your child takes any part of school lunch, even only milk in Adachi, it does not.

Adachi City: for pupils at ward schools who bring a full packed lunch (完全弁当, kanzen bento) every day because of a severe food allergy, religion or a similar reason. Get the form from the school and submit it to the ward. Paid in two parts, April–July and September–March, up to the lunch fee.
Ota City: for pupils who bring a full meal from home every day except milk, because of a food allergy, religion or a similar reason. Submit the notice form (完全弁当対応に関する届出書) to the school. Paid about twice a year: ¥311 to ¥356 per meal for elementary school and ¥417 for junior high school. If your child takes school milk, the milk cost is taken off.
Nerima City: from October 2026, ¥6,400 a month (elementary) or ¥7,900 a month (junior high) for children who do not eat school lunch for a whole month because of a long absence or a similar reason. There is no income limit. Tell the school by the 20th of the previous month. Nerima says allergy and religion are covered by a separate program.
Edogawa City: pays the lunch cost for children whose lunch is stopped because of a long absence, for example because of illness. Submit a lunch stop notice and a letter of authorization to the school.

4. Private high school: which national program applies to my child?

Official rule (Japan)

The national High School Tuition Support Fund (高等学校等就学支援金, shugaku shienkin) pays toward tuition. From fiscal 2026, its new program has no income limit and pays up to ¥457,200 a year for a full-time or part-time private high school (¥337,200 for a correspondence course). The money goes to the school, not to your bank account. Some schools collect tuition first and refund it after the decision.

According to the Ministry of Education (MEXT), the new program is for students who live in Japan and are Japanese nationals, or who have one of these statuses of residence (在留資格, zairyu shikaku):

Special Permanent Resident, Permanent Resident, Spouse or Child of Japanese National, or Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident
Long-Term Resident who intends to live in Japan permanently
Dependent who graduated from elementary and junior high school in Japan and intends to work and settle in Japan after high school

4.1 If your child is not on that list

Students of foreign nationality outside that list, and students at international schools (including Japanese nationals), get support under a separate program, the High School Students’ New Study Support (高校生等・新修学支援金). For students who start in April 2026 or later, it depends on household income. Tokyo’s page gives these amounts for a private high school:

Income	National support a year
Under ¥5.9M	Up to ¥396,000
¥5.9M–¥9.1M	Up to ¥118,800
¥9.1M or more	¥0*

Income is the approximate yearly household income (M = million). * Students who were already enrolled on March 31, 2026 and stay at the same school get ¥118,800. According to MEXT, new students with the status of residence “Student” (留学, ryugaku) are not covered by the national programs. Tokyo’s grant can still help them (section 5).

4.2 How to apply

Wait for the notice from the school. After your child starts, the school gives you a login ID notice (ログインID通知書). International schools give an application number notice (申請番号通知書) instead.
Apply online in June. For schools in Tokyo, the fiscal 2026 period was June 1 to June 30, 2026, on Tokyo’s online form. The national program and the new study support use the same form. If the school is outside Tokyo, follow that prefecture’s instructions.
Prepare proof of status and income. MEXT lists a copy of the residence card or the certificate of residence (住民票, juminhyo). Dependents also need their Japanese elementary and junior high school diplomas. For the income-based program, Tokyo checks the income of all parents, so you need the tax certificate (課税証明書, kazei shomeisho) of each.
Apply again every year. Tokyo says students who applied last year must also apply each year.

5. Private high school: what does Tokyo add?

Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Tokyo’s Private High School Tuition Reduction Grant (私立高等学校等授業料軽減助成金) tops up the national support. In fiscal 2026, the national and Tokyo amounts together cover tuition up to ¥501,000 a year, the average tuition at private high schools in Tokyo. Neither amount can be more than the tuition you actually pay. Admission fees, facility fees and savings deposits are not covered.

The parent and the student must both live in Tokyo; in fiscal 2026 they had to have a Tokyo address from May 1 until the day they applied. The school can be outside Tokyo, except correspondence courses. International schools are not on the list of eligible schools.

Students in the new national program (section 4): Tokyo pays up to ¥43,800, with no income check. If the national amount already covers the whole tuition, you do not need to apply.
Students in the new study support (section 4.1): Tokyo pays more, so the total can still reach ¥501,000. Tokyo uses three income bands: ¥105,000, ¥382,200, or ¥501,000 for a new student in the highest band. Tokyo checks income with tax certificates.
New students with “Student” status: only the Tokyo grant, up to ¥501,000 regardless of income.

Apply on the Tokyo Private School Foundation’s website in July. In fiscal 2026 the regular period was July 1 to July 31, 2026. The school passes on the notice, around June in 2026. This is a separate application from the national one, with a separate user ID.
Upload photos of the documents. For example, a student ID or acceptance letter that shows the school and the student’s name. Students in the new study support use a separate application page and may need a declaration about the intention to settle (永住・就労継続意思等に係る申告書).
Do not miss the period. Late applications are not accepted, and you cannot apply for a past year. For students who could not apply in time, the foundation plans a special period in early January 2027 and will announce it in December.

The result and payment come in October, December or March for schools in Tokyo, and December or March for schools outside Tokyo. The money goes to an account in the applicant’s own name.

Note

All amounts and dates here are for fiscal 2026. Tokyo has not announced fiscal 2027 yet. MEXT’s budget request for fiscal 2027 keeps the ¥457,200 limit with no income limit, but this is decided only when the national budget passes.

6. What about costs other than tuition?

Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Tokyo’s scholarship benefit (奨学給付金, shogaku kyufukin) helps with costs such as textbooks and school trips. It does not have to be paid back. It is for households in Tokyo on public assistance or with a lower income, and paid ¥13,030 to ¥152,000 a year in fiscal 2026. For some students of foreign nationality and students at international schools, Tokyo says it is only for households on public assistance or with an income under about ¥2.7 million.

The entrance fee is not covered by tuition support. For families living in Tokyo, some private high schools in Tokyo lend ¥250,000 of the entry costs with no interest (入学支度金貸付). Ask the school whether it takes part.

Common questions

Do I need to apply for free lunch at a ward school?

No. Nerima says the school stops the lunch fee withdrawal, and Setagaya says no procedure or payment is needed.

One parent lives and pays tax abroad. How is income judged?

For the new study support, Tokyo says it uses the income of the parent living in Japan only, with the amount capped at ¥118,800 a year.

Can I get the national tuition support if my child has a full scholarship from the school?

No. Tokyo says the support is paid only when there is tuition for the family to pay.

We live outside Tokyo but the school is in Tokyo. Can we get Tokyo’s grant?

No. Tokyo’s grant needs a Tokyo address. Families living outside Tokyo can get only the national support.

Can we apply for high school support before the school year starts?

No. Both national and Tokyo support are applied for after the student starts, using the notices that come through the school.

Next steps

Choosing a high school for April 2027? See Tokyo Metropolitan High School Exams 2027.
For other money for families, see Child benefits and children’s medical costs in Tokyo.
Just moving in? Register your address first: Moving into Tokyo’s 23 wards.

High school support: Tokyo Private School Tuition Support Center, national support 03-6743-5011, Tokyo grant and scholarship benefit 03-5206-7925, weekdays 9:15 to 17:00.

Sources (checked October 2026)

24 pages we checked