Announcements in the March 1st Issue

Are You Signed Up to Receive the “Child Allowance” Payment?

There is a financial support payment system known as the Child Allowance (児童手当, jidoteate).  The laws for this payment changed in October of 2024, so even some people who were already receiving the payment may need to make an application to continue receiving it.  Please be sure to apply by March 31st, 2025.

The main changes are listed below:

• High-school aged children are now also eligible to receive the payment.  “High-school aged” means that children will be eligible to receive the Child Allowance up until the first March 31st after they turn 18.
• The support payment from the third child onward has been raised to 30,000 yen.  In other words, you will receive that payment starting with your third child.
• You can now receive the support payment regardless of your family income.

The following people will need to apply to receive the Child Allowance:

• Those families who have children up to high school age but are not currently receiving the Child Allowance.
• Those families who are currently receiving the Child Allowance, but have 3 or more children in their family if they include college-aged children.   “College-aged children” means children will be eligible up until the first March 31st after they turn 22.

For more details, please check the Akashi City website.

If you have any questions about this article, please contact the Child Welfare Division.

 Their phone number is 078-918-5259.  Their fax number is 078-918-5196.

 You Can Get the HPV Vaccination

HPV (Human papillomavirus) is a virus that many adults carry within them during their lives.  In some cases, it can cause cervical cancer or other kinds of cancer.

Young women of a certain age can get the HPV vaccination for free.  This vaccination can help prevent more serious illness.

The criteria for women who qualify are listed below.  Any women who meet the qualifications and have received their first vaccination by March of this year (2025), can receive 3 vaccinations for free.  For the HPV vaccination to work, you must receive 3 vaccinations.  Please check the criteria below to see if you qualify:

“Women born between April 2nd, 1997 to March 31st, 2009, who have received at least one HPV vaccination from April 1st, 2022 until March 31st, 2025.”

If you qualify, then you can get your free vaccination up until March 3rd, 2026.

If you want to receive the vaccination, then you will need a new “vaccination ticket” (接種券, sesshuken).  Please apply for this ticket.

For more details, please check the Akashi City website.

If you have any questions about this article, please contact the Children’s Health Center. 

Their phone number is 078-918-5656.  Their fax number is 078-918-6384.