Returning to childcare work after a break | What returners want most is to see the workplace first
The support that qualified childcare workers not currently in the field want most is “a chance to see the actual workplace before starting” (41.8%). A guide to the re-employment preparation loan, the Childcare Worker and Nursery Support Centers, easing back in step by step, and using visits and trial shifts.
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- The No. 1 support that qualified-but-inactive childcare workers (潜在保育士) want around their return: “a chance to see the actual workplace before starting” (41.8%)
- Returners can use a re-employment preparation loan (up to ¥400,000). Repayment is waived after 2 years of work after re-employment (conditions apply)
- Each prefecture’s Childcare Worker and Nursery Support Center became a statutory body in October 2025, and handles refresher training and job placement
- Childcare job openings peak around January. If you are aiming to start in April, beginning your search in autumn gives you more choice
“I’m qualified, but I’ve been away so long I’m nervous.” “My kids are older now and I’d like to work in childcare again.” This guide is forsenzai hoikushi (潜在保育士): people who hold the childcare worker qualification but are not working as one. It covers the support worth knowing about before you go back, and how to choose a workplace.
How many qualified childcare workers are out of the field?
About 1.990 million people are registered as childcare workers (April 1, 2026). Meanwhile, about 675,000 childcare workers work at social welfare facilities and similar (2024). The number who are registered but not working at such facilities is put atabout 1.23 million (October 2024).
How to read this figure: the “about 1.23 million” includes people working at unlicensed childcare facilities or kindergartens, and people whose registration has simply never been cancelled. It does not mean all of them could start work right away (per a note in the Children and Families Agency’s material).
The most common reasons for leaving childcare work were “relationships and harassment at work” (19.8%), “marriage” (18.7%) and “health reasons, including physical stamina” (16.4%) (a FY2025 survey answered by 2,008 qualified childcare workers not working in the field).
The support returners want most: a chance to see the workplace
Group interviews in the same study also reported several people saying it would help to “try out the workplace for a few days to a week before joining.” For people returning after a gap, the biggest worry may be not knowing whether they can make it at that particular nursery.
This survey asked what kind of support people want. It is not data showing that “people who try the workplace before joining stay longer.” It is, however, a way to learn what a workplace is really like before you join, which job ads and interviews alone won’t show you.
Don’t miss #1: the re-employment preparation loan (up to ¥400,000)
The Childcare Worker Training Fund Loan Program (保育士修学資金貸付等事業), run by prefectures and designated cities, includesa track to support qualified childcare workers returning to work. According to the national material (overview of the FY2026 budget request), it works as follows.
| Item | Details (national standard) |
|---|---|
| Who | Qualified childcare workers not working as childcare workers (潜在保育士) |
| Loan amount | Re-employment preparation money (就職準備金) of up to ¥400,000 |
| Condition for repayment waiver | Working in practice as a childcare worker for 2 years after re-employment |
| Run by | Prefectures and designated cities (application periods, where to apply and detailed conditions vary by local government) |
| Loans approved in FY2024 | 1,372 people |
This is a loan, not money you simply receive. If you work as required you no longer have to repay it, but if you quit partway or don’t meet the conditions, you may have to pay it back. Also, from the FY2026 application round, requirements about household finances were spelled out in more detail. Always check with the office in your prefecture whether you qualify and when to apply.
Application periods and timing differ by local government. Look at the application guidelines early so you are not scrambling around the time you choose a job.
Don’t miss #2: Childcare Worker and Nursery Support Centers
Childcare Worker and Nursery Support Centers (保育士・保育所支援センター) were written into law in October 2025, and every prefecture is now required to have one. There are 75 nationwide (December 2025), offering job placement, refresher training and follow-up consultations after you start (ongoing support). In FY2024, 4,708 people found jobs through the centers.
If you have been away a long time and want to relearn things like finger plays and how to write records, ask the center whether it runs refresher training.
You can also start as an assistant
The No. 2 wish, “building experience gradually, not as a class lead,” connects to the Program to Strengthen Hiring of Childcare Assistants (保育補助者雇上強化事業), in which the national government and municipality subsidize a nursery’s cost of hiring childcare assistants. It also coversqualified childcare workers who are not working as one (positioned as a stepping stone for a gradual return; the subsidy covers up to 1 year).
Whether this subsidy is used, though, is up to the nursery and the municipality. The surest way is to ask directly on your visit: “Could I start in an assistant or floater role?”
When to look: openings peak around January
The job openings-to-applicants ratio for childcare workers is 2.80 (July 2026; 1.15 for all occupations). Every year, openings grow from autumn toward April starts and peak around January (3.88 in January 2026).
If you are thinking of returning in April, starting visits around autumn gives you more nurseries to compare. On the other hand, if you are not in a hurry, aiming for mid-year hiring is another option.
5 steps to ease return-to-work worries with visits and trial shifts
- Write down the conditions you can work under: how many days a week, until what time, Saturdays? Who will look after your kids? (Working while raising kids)
- Check the money programs: the re-employment preparation loan, housing support, income walls (Income walls for part-time childcare workers)
- Visit 2 or 3 nurseries: how breaks work and how staff get along are often things you only see in person (Checklist)
- Work a one-day trial shift: how close you are with the children, the flow of the day, and whether you could keep it up physically
- Talk about a gradual start: whether you can begin as an assistant or floater, and when you would take on a class
Sources
- 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), summary of results (Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting (commissioned by the Children and Families Agency), Mar 2026)
- 基礎資料（保育人材の確保のための総合的な対策） — Background data: comprehensive measures to secure childcare staff (Children and Families Agency, Mar 2026 edition)
- 令和８年度 保育関係予算案の概要 — Overview of the FY2026 childcare budget request (Children and Families Agency, Jan 2026)
- 保育士登録者数等（男女別） — Registered childcare workers (by gender) (Children and Families Agency, June 2026)
- 保育士の有効求人倍率の推移（R8.7） — Job openings-to-applicants ratio for childcare workers (July 2026) (Children and Families Agency (based on the Employment Security Statistics), Sept 2026)
Figures and programs are summarized from the materials above as of September 2026. Programs can be revised, and conditions differ by municipality and employer. Check the latest information with the relevant office before you use any of them.