For childcare workers in Japan2026 edition
Don’t miss out onthe money & supportfor childcare workers
Pay improvements, help with housing, income walls, support for returning to work, and balancing work with your own kids.
Japan’s 2026 programs, explained simply from public sources.
The Cura app is in Japanese.
A re-employment loan of up to ¥400,000. Repayment waived after 2 years of work
Employer-leased housing support is capped at ¥75,000/month under the national standard
Pay improvements of up to ¥40,000/month (each nursery decides how to share it)
*All of these come with conditions and exceptions. See each article for details
MONEY & SUPPORT
The money and support
every childcare worker should know
Start with whichever card catches your eye. Each one covers the conditions and the exceptions.
*Conditions and exceptions apply. A “loan” (貸付) is only forgiven if you meet the conditions. It is not money you are guaranteed to receive.
CALENDAR
What changes when?
Your don’t-miss-it calendar
Recent and upcoming changes to the rules that affect childcare workers’ jobs and money.
- Apr 2025
- Childcare short-time work benefit starts (child under 2; 10% of wages)
- Leave to care for a sick child extended to the end of 3rd grade
- Oct 2025
- Childcare Worker and Nursery Support Centers become statutory (every prefecture must have one)
- Employers must offer “flexible working measures” to parents of children aged 3 to school age
- Dec 2025
- Staff costs in the official childcare fee schedule raised by 5.3%
- Apr 2026
- The ¥1.3M dependent limit can be assessed from your employment contract
- The “Kodomo Daredemo Tsuen” childcare-for-all system starts in every municipality
- Tax-free limit for employer-provided meals rises to ¥7,500 a month
- Oct 2026
- Social insurance “¥88,000/month (¥1.06M)” requirement scheduled to be removed
- Social insurance value of employer housing to be calculated per ㎡
- Dec 2026
- The ¥1.78M income tax threshold (2026 tax year) applied all at once in the year-end adjustment
- Oct 2028
- Employment insurance covers people working 10+ hours a week
Sources: materials from the Children and Families Agency, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Japan Pension Service and the National Tax Agency (see the sources in each article). “Scheduled to be removed” reflects Japan Pension Service guidance as of September 2026
“A chance to see the actual workplace
before starting, e.g. through part-time work”
Source: 保育士等の意識及び業務負担軽減に関する調査研究（令和7年度）調査結果概要 — survey on childcare workers’ attitudes and workload reduction, FY2025 (Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, commissioned by the Children and Families Agency, Mar 2026). 2,008 qualified childcare workers not working in childcare responded
Been away a while? Take a look first
Worries about going back
start with not knowing the workplace
Asked what support would help around their return, qualified childcare workers who had left the field most often chose “a chance to see the actual workplace before starting.” Second was “a role that lets you build experience gradually, not as a class lead from day one” (40.8%).
With Cura, you can visit a childcare workplace before joining, or work a one-day trial shift.
- 1VisitSee the atmosphere, facilities and approach to care
- 2Trial shiftActually work a shift, and get paid for it
- 3HiringYou decide whether to go ahead
- No résumé or interview to apply
- Free for job seekers
- No sales calls
- 41 job types incl. childcare workers & child instructors
The Cura app is in Japanese.
*There is no research showing that visits or trial shifts make people stay longer. They are a way to see what the workplace is really like before you join.
CHECKLIST
5 things to check
on a nursery visit
- Whether staff really get their breaks
- Whether paperwork goes home, and how much is digital
- Class sizes and staffing
- How staff get along
- Whether you can start as an assistant or floater
About 35% of childcare workers get less than 30 minutes of break a day.
Among the most burdensome tasks: paperwork.
Source: the same MURC survey (Mar 2026)
RANKING
Working conditions
by prefecture
The same job varies by region: how many openings there are, pay levels, and how easy it is to get a nursery place.
Most job openings
Openings-to-applicants ratio for childcare workers (July 2026)
National: 2.80
- 1Tochigi7.85
- 2Hiroshima5.26
- 3Nara4.48
- 4Fukui4.42
- 5Toyama4.09
Source: 保育士の有効求人倍率の推移（R8.7） (Children and Families Agency, Sept 2026)
Highest annual pay
Estimated annual pay of childcare workers (2025)
National: about ¥4.28M
- 1Yamanashi~¥4.73M
- 2Shizuoka~¥4.70M
- 3Tokyo~¥4.63M
- 4Kyoto~¥4.57M
- 5Aichi~¥4.56M
Source: Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 (令和7年賃金構造基本統計調査, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Mar 2026). Estimated as monthly pay × 12 + bonuses; varies a lot from year to year
Most waitlisted children
Relevant if you have young kids (Apr 1, 2026)
Prefectures with zero: 18
- 1Tokyo1,113
- 2Hyogo200
- 3Nara147
- 4Saitama140
- 5Osaka133
Source: 保育所等関連状況取りまとめ（令和8年4月1日） (Children and Families Agency, Aug 2026)
ARTICLES
Read the details
Q&A
Frequently asked questions
I’m a qualified childcare worker but I’ve been out of the field for years. Can I still apply for visits and trial shifts?
Yes. On Cura you can apply to visit a childcare workplace or do a trial shift without a résumé or interview. Qualifications such as the childcare worker (保育士) certificate are checked from documents. If the gap worries you, seeing the workplace before you join is all the more reassuring.
Does a trial shift cost anything?
Cura is free for job seekers. A trial shift is real work, so you are paid for it.
After a visit or trial shift, do I have to work at that nursery?
No. Whether you move on to hiring after a visit or trial shift is up to you. If it doesn’t feel right, you can look at other workplaces.
Can anyone get the re-employment preparation money for returning childcare workers?
The re-employment preparation money (就職準備金) is not a grant. It is a loan run by prefectures and designated cities. Under the national standard it is up to ¥400,000, and repayment is waived if you work as a childcare worker for 2 years after re-employment. Whether it is offered, when applications open, and requirements such as household finances differ by local government, so always check with the office.
Can I apply for childcare worker housing support myself?
Housing support (宿舎借り上げ支援) is a program where the national government and the municipality subsidize a nursery operator’s cost of leasing housing for its childcare workers. The worker does not apply for it. Whether it is offered depends on the municipality and the nursery, so ask on your visit whether they have it and whether you would qualify.
How will the income walls change in October 2026?
The “¥88,000 a month (the so-called ¥1.06 million)” wage requirement for joining social insurance is scheduled to be removed. After that, working 20+ hours a week at, for example, a workplace with 51 or more employees means you join social insurance (students excluded). The ¥1.3 million limit for being a family dependent and the tax walls (¥1.36 million, ¥1.78 million, etc.) are separate rules.
Will I get sales calls if I sign up?
Cura does not make sales calls. You can look for a workplace at your own pace.
Know the programs?
Now go see the workplace
Good pay terms are one thing, but how easy the job is day to day depends on the workplace. You can check before you join, with a visit or a trial shift.
Find a childcare workplace freeThe Cura app is in Japanese.