Child Allowance in Yamaguchi: ¥10,000–¥30,000 a Month and Payment Dates in 5 Cities

This page is general information from official sources. It is not legal or financial advice. Whether you can get a payment is decided by your city. For your own case, ask the city office listed for your city.

In Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Ube, Shunan and Iwakuni, the national child allowance is ¥15,000 a month for a child under 3, ¥10,000 from age 3 to high school age, and ¥30,000 for a third or later child. It is paid on the 15th of every even-numbered month (the bank business day before, if the 15th is a weekend or holiday), two months at a time. Shimonoseki City and Iwakuni City add their own payments. This guide shows where to apply after a birth or a move, and what each city adds.

In short

All five cities pay the child allowance on the 15th of February, April, June, August, October and December. Each payment covers the two months before.
Apply at your city office within 15 days, counted from the day after a birth or your move-out date. If you apply later, payments in principle start only from the month after you apply.
Shimonoseki City’s 2026 payment for large families gives ¥500,000 to a third or later child born April 2025–March 2026, and ¥200,000 or ¥100,000 to those aged 6 or 15. The payment date has not been announced yet.
Iwakuni City pays ¥50,000 per child after the 18-month or 3-year health checkup.
A pregnancy support payment of ¥50,000 plus ¥50,000 per baby is paid in all five cities. You must apply for it.

Checked with official pages on October 23, 2026.

Two words you will see on every form. Your resident record (住民票, juminhyo) is your registered address at the city office. Foreign residents get one when they register their address after arriving. My Number is the 12-digit number linked to that record. The child allowance forms ask for the My Number of the parents.

City	Child allowance counter	Phone	Change your bank account by
Shimonoseki	こども家庭支援課 (Child and Family Support)	083-231-1928	As soon as you can
Yamaguchi	こども未来課 (Children’s Future)	083-934-2797	14 days before payday
Ube	こども政策課 (Child Policy)	0836-34-8330	25th of the month before payday
Shunan	子育て給付課 (Child-Rearing Benefits)	0834-22-8460	25th of an odd-numbered month
Iwakuni	こども家庭課 (Child and Family)	0827-29-5075	Not stated by the organizer.

The English names of the divisions are our plain translations. Use the Japanese names at the counter. Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Ube and Shunan also accept forms at branch offices or community centers (section 3).

1. Who can get the child allowance in Yamaguchi?

Official rule (Japan)

The child allowance (児童手当, jido teate) is a national payment. According to the Children and Families Agency, it goes to the person raising a child up to the March 31 after the child’s 18th birthday. As a rule, the child must live in Japan. A child studying abroad can count in some cases. If both parents live abroad, they can name the person raising the child in Japan to receive it.

You apply to the city where you live now. If both parents raise the child, the parent with the steadily higher income usually applies, as Shimonoseki City explains. Civil servants apply through their workplace, not the city. There has been no income limit since the allowance for October 2024.

The five city pages do not mention nationality or status of residence. They ask for documents that a registered foreign resident can usually provide, such as My Number and an ID. If you are not sure whether your family qualifies, ask your city office before you give up.

1.1 How much is it, and when is payday?

The five cities pay the same national amounts each month:

Under 3 years old, first and second child: ¥15,000
From 3 to high school age, first and second child: ¥10,000
Third child and later, any age up to high school: ¥30,000

To count a “third child”, older children up to the March 31 after their 22nd birthday also count if you still pay for their living costs. Shimonoseki City and Yamaguchi City ask for an extra form (確認書, kakuninsho) in that case.

Payday is the 15th of every even-numbered month. For example, October 15 pays for August and September. If the 15th is a weekend or holiday, the money comes on the bank business day before.

2. How do I apply after a birth or a move?

Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Ube, Shunan and Iwakuni

The allowance normally starts from the month after you apply. If you apply within 15 days, counted from the day after the birth or your move, you lose nothing. For a move, the Children and Families Agency counts from the day after the planned move-out date from your old city. The form is the application for certification (認定請求書, nintei seikyusho).

Register your new address first. After a move, do the move-in notification at the city office. Our guide Moving to Yamaguchi with children shows the order.
Bring your ID, My Number documents and bank details. Shimonoseki City lists an ID such as a My Number card or driver’s license, proof of the My Number of the child and both parents, and a copy of a bank book. Ube City lists a passport as a photo ID.
Use a bank account in your own name. Shimonoseki City and Shunan City do not accept an account in your spouse’s or child’s name. Shimonoseki City says it must be an ordinary savings account (普通預金).
Hand in the form at the counter. Yamaguchi City and Iwakuni City accept the form first, even if some papers are missing. Bring the rest later.
Wait for the decision letter. Keep a copy of your form until the certification notice (認定通知書) arrives, as Yamaguchi City advises.

Note

Yamaguchi City asks people who moved in for an income certificate (所得課税証明書) from their former city. It says this can sometimes be skipped by My Number data sharing. Ask when you apply.

Online: Ube City and Shunan City accept the application on Mynaportal (マイナポータル), the government’s online service. You need a My Number card. Ube City says to search for the procedure with “さがす” (search). The site is mostly in Japanese. Shimonoseki City says only some child allowance procedures can be done there.

3. What does each city add?

The child allowance is the same in all five cities. The differences are in city extras and counters.

3.1 Shimonoseki City

Shimonoseki City

The counter is the Child and Family Support Division, Benefits Section (こども家庭支援課給付係), East Building 1F, window C2. Each branch office (総合支所・支所) also accepts forms. From December 1, 2025, a bank account change can be sent online with the Yamaguchi e-application service (やまぐち電子申請サービス).

Shimonoseki City’s multi-child support payment (多子世帯子育て応援給付金) pays a third or later child who is age 1, 6 or 15 on the base date of October 1, 2026: ¥500,000, ¥200,000 or ¥100,000. The family must have lived in Shimonoseki for at least 1 year on October 1, 2026, and raise 3 or more children up to high school age. There is no income limit. Families on public assistance are not covered.

Age 1 means born April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. Age 6 means born April 2, 2020 to April 1, 2021. Age 15 means born April 2, 2011 to April 1, 2012.
If you get the child allowance from the city, you do not need to apply; the city will send you a letter. The payment date and the application period will be announced later.
Civil servants must apply. The form is not ready yet.

The city also lists free school lunches at city elementary and junior high schools, free lunches for 3- to 5-year-old classes at preschools (up to a limit), full medical coverage for children up to high school age, and free nursery fees from the second child. For medical coverage, see Children’s medical costs in Yamaguchi.

Important

Shimonoseki City warns of fake calls about this payment. The city never asks you to use an ATM or to pay a fee to receive it.

3.2 Yamaguchi City

Yamaguchi City

You can apply at the Children’s Future Division (こども未来課), window 21 on the first floor of City Hall. Branch offices, the general center at 大海 (大海総合センター) and most community centers and their annexes also accept forms. The centers in Odono, Shiraishi, Yuda, Ogori, Aio, Ajisu, Tokuji and Ato do not.

You can also apply by mail to the Children’s Future Division, Allowance Section (こども未来課手当給付担当). Report a new bank account at least 14 days before payday, or it may miss the next payment. The city did not list its own cash payment for families in the pages we checked.

3.3 Ube City

Ube City

The Child Policy Division (こども政策課) is at window 11 on the first floor of City Hall. It stays open until 7 p.m. every Thursday, except holidays and the New Year period. The eight citizen centers also accept forms: Higashikiwa, Nishikiwa, Konan, Hara, Koto, Futamatase, Ono and Kusunoki.

By mail, the date the form arrives counts as your application date. A bank account change must reach the city by the 25th of the month before payday. The city did not list its own cash payment for families in the pages we checked.

3.4 Shunan City

Shunan City

Apply at the Child-Rearing Benefits Division (子育て給付課) at City Hall or at a branch office. The forms are at the counter. A bank account change made by the 25th of an odd-numbered month applies from the next payment. The city did not list its own cash payment for families in the pages we checked.

3.5 Iwakuni City

Iwakuni City

The counter is the Child and Family Division, Allowances and Benefits Team (こども家庭課手当・給付班), on the second floor of City Hall. Iwakuni City says to apply even if you do not have every paper yet.

Iwakuni City’s support payment for children’s future (こどもの未来応援給付金) is ¥50,000 per child. You must apply within 180 days of your child’s 18-month or 3-year health checkup.

The child was born on or after April 1, 2023, and lived in Iwakuni on the checkup day.
You have lived in Iwakuni for at least 6 months in a row. If you moved in recently, the city counts the 180 days from when you reach 6 months.
You and your spouse have no unpaid city tax, National Health Insurance premiums or nursery fees.
You plan to keep living in Iwakuni with the child.

You get a leaflet at the checkup. Apply online through the URL on it, or at the Child and Family Division or a branch office. Bring a photo ID and your bank details.

4. How does the pregnancy support payment work?

Official rule (Japan)

The pregnancy support payment (妊婦支援給付金, ninpu shien kyufukin) began in April 2025. All five cities pay ¥50,000 during pregnancy, then ¥50,000 for each baby. You apply twice; each city explains the application at an interview with a public health nurse or other staff.

City	First ¥50,000	Second payment	Phone
Shimonoseki	When you report the pregnancy	At the home visit after the birth	083-231-1447
Yamaguchi	Online, from the guide given at the interview	Online, after the visit after the birth	083-921-7085
Ube	When you get the Maternal and Child Health Handbook	By mail, after the baby home visit	0836-31-1732
Shunan	After the pregnancy report and an interview	After you report the number of babies	0834-22-8460
Iwakuni	After the pregnancy report	After the birth registration and a home visit	0827-29-5075

Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi and Ube give the same deadlines. The first payment must be claimed within 2 years of the doctor confirming the baby’s heartbeat. The second must be claimed within 2 years from 8 weeks before the due date. Shunan City and Iwakuni City do not give a deadline on their pages.

The money goes to an account in the pregnant person’s own name. Shunan City says a husband or grandparent cannot receive it.
After a miscarriage or stillbirth, you may still be able to apply if a doctor had confirmed a heartbeat. Ask the city.
Ube City says its pregnancy certification ends if you move out. Yamaguchi City says people who move in need its own certification, even if another city certified them.
Iwakuni City says the money arrives 1 to 2 months after it accepts your application.

Common questions

Which months does each payment cover?

Each payment covers the two months before. The cities list February 15 for December and January, April 15 for February and March, and so on through December 15 for October and November.

Do I need to send a report every June?

Most people do not. Shimonoseki City and Yamaguchi City say the yearly status report (現況届, genkyo todoke) is no longer needed in principle. The city sends a form to the few people who still must send it, such as when the child has no resident record.

What if my child lives apart from me?

If your child lives at a different address in Japan, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi and Ube ask for a statement of separate residence (別居監護申立書). Yamaguchi City also asks for the child’s household resident record if the child lives in another city.

Can someone else apply for me?

Shimonoseki City says a person other than your spouse living with you needs a letter of authorization (委任状) for the main forms. Ube City asks a proxy to bring their own ID.

I work for the government. Where do I apply?

Apply for the child allowance at your workplace, not at the city office. Shimonoseki City’s multi-child payment is different: civil servants apply to the city for it.

Next steps

Sources (checked October 2026)

6 pages we checked