Child Support (Yoiku-Hi)
Child Support (Yoiku-Hi) is the money a parent pays toward raising their child after divorce or separation.1 The amount shapes household budgets for years, yet many families agree it with only a verbal promise and discover the gap when payments stop.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Ministry of Justice child support guidance and the Courts of Japan calculation table pages. This article is general information, not legal advice; for your specific case, consult a licensed family-law specialist (bengoshi).
Overview
The 養育費 (yōiku-hi, "child support") covers the costs of raising and educating a child, generally until the child becomes economically and socially independent, including food, housing, clothing, education, and medical costs.1 The parent raising the child receives support from the other parent.1 Parents owe the support duty regardless of parental authority or marital relationship, so divorce does not end it.2
The framework in this article applies uniformly nationwide. The calculation table is published by the family courts for national use, and enforcement runs under the national Civil Execution Act, so no ward or municipal variation applies.34
This article covers how the table works, what amounts look like in practice, why non-payment is common, what the 2020 enforcement reform changed, and which written form actually unlocks compulsory execution.
| Japanese term | Romaji | English gloss |
|---|---|---|
| 養育費 | yōiku-hi | Child support |
| 養育費算定表 | yōiku-hi santei-hyō | Child support calculation table |
| 義務者 | gimu-sha | Obligor, the paying parent |
| 権利者 | kenri-sha | Rights holder, the receiving parent |
How the Calculation Table Works
The amount is basically set through negotiation between the parents. The court-published calculation table serves as a reference in that negotiation, not as an absolute standard.5 If negotiation fails or the other side will not talk, either parent can use family court mediation, which moves to adjudication if no agreement is reached.1
The table in current family court use is the revised standard calculation method published in 2019, which reflects price and living-cost changes after a 16-year gap.6 Each table gives a standard monthly amount with a band: 10,000 yen wide when the payer's income is low, otherwise 20,000 yen wide.3 The table amount matches what a court would estimate for a standard case, but the court's final decision does not always equal the table figure when special circumstances exist.3
The lookup runs the same five steps in every case:
Which of the Nine Tables Applies
Nine child support tables cover one to three children crossed with two age bands, 0 to 14 and 15 plus.36 Table 1 covers one child aged 0 to 14, Table 2 one child aged 15 plus, Tables 3 to 5 the two-child band combinations, and Tables 6 to 9 the three-child combinations.6
Cases the nine tables do not cover directly need individual calculation under the standard formula rather than table lookup. That includes four or more children and split arrangements where each parent raises some of the children.6
Reading Payer and Receiver Incomes
On every table the vertical axis is the payer's income and the horizontal axis is the receiver's income, meaning the parent raising the child. The cell where the two lines intersect is the standard monthly total for all children combined.36
Each axis carries two income scales. Salary earners read the salary scale and self-employed earners read the self-employed scale.36 Salary earners use the pre-deduction payment amount on the withholding slip, while self-employed earners use taxable income on the tax return with non-spent deductions added back.36
Take-home pay has taxes and social insurance deducted, so it understates table income. On a withholding slip use the payment-amount box, and on a tax certificate use gross salary receipts.6
Child allowances are social security benefits for the child and are not counted in the receiver's income.3 Where several children share one table figure, the per-child split apportions the total by each child's living-cost index: 62 for ages 0 to 14 and 85 for ages 15 plus, against a parent indexed at 100.3
Typical Amounts and What Moves Them
One worked illustration under the current table runs as follows: a 5-year-old child, a payer with salary income of 6,000,000 yen, and a receiver with salary income of 1,000,000 yen give a standard band of 60,000 to 80,000 yen per month (as of 2026-02-24; confirm current figures with the Courts of Japan table pages).6 Practitioner guidance describes a typical range of roughly 40,000 to 80,000 yen per month per child for typical-income payers, with higher amounts for higher-income payers (as of 2026-02-24).6 That range is a practitioner illustration, not a court-published band, and the higher-income end varies too much by household to fix as a number.
The table amount assumes public school attendance and does not account for housing loans, regional differences, or other individual household circumstances.6 Parties remain free to agree above or below the band, and documented extras such as private tuition or ongoing medical costs are negotiated first, then taken to mediation or adjudication with evidence if talks fail.6
| Scenario | Monthly band | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| One child age 5; payer salary 6M yen; receiver salary 1M yen | 60,000–80,000 yen | 2026-02-24 | 6 |
| Typical-income payers, per child (practitioner illustration) | 40,000–80,000 yen | 2026-02-24 | 6 |
| Older table version example: two children ages 7 and 10; payer 7.152M yen; receiver 2.028M yen | 80,000–100,000 yen total | version superseded | 3 |
The figures above reflect the sources and dates shown; confirm the current table before relying on any band.
The Non-Payment Problem and 2020 Enforcement Reform
Support is ordered far more often than it is received. In the 2021 national single-parent survey, 46.7 percent of mother-headed households had a support arrangement and 28.1 percent were currently receiving support (as of 2021-11-01; confirm current figures with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare survey publications).7 For father-headed households the figures were 28.3 percent arranged and 8.7 percent currently receiving (as of 2021-11-01).7
Among households with an arrangement, 57.7 percent of mother-headed and 25.9 percent of father-headed households were currently receiving (as of 2021-11-01).7
The 2019 Civil Execution Act amendments took effect April 18, 2020, adding third-party information acquisition and stronger asset disclosure so a rights holder can locate the payer's workplace and assets for attachment.8 For support claims the creditor's collection right still arises one week after the attachment order is served on the payer, while ordinary wage claims now wait four weeks, a shorter wait that reflects the child's living needs.8
Wage attachment for support claims reaches up to one half of take-home pay after taxes and similar deductions, versus one quarter for ordinary claims.94 Where monthly take-home pay exceeds 660,000 yen, the attachable amount is take-home minus 330,000 yen (as of 2026-09-08).4 Attachment covers unpaid past amounts and future scheduled payments alike.
Attachable recurring receipts include wages and rental income, but not one-off receipts such as savings withdrawals or severance pay.9
A rights holder who does not know the payer's assets can combine property disclosure and wage-related third-party information acquisition with wage attachment in a single district court petition, known as the one-stop enforcement procedure.94 Performance assurance petitions go to the family court instead, while direct enforcement petitions such as attachment go to the district court covering the payer's address.94 One-stop filing fees run 2,000 yen for the disclosure case plus 4,000 yen for the attachment order case, plus postage that varies by court (as of 2026-09-08).4
Since April 1, 2026, agreed or adjudicated support carries a statutory lien of up to 80,000 yen per child per month with priority over general creditors (as of 2026-04-01).4 Divorces without any agreement now create statutory support of 20,000 yen per child per month until a proper arrangement is set or the child turns 18 (as of 2026-04-01).4
The enforcement path runs from agreement to collection without returning to trial when the paperwork is in order:
What an Enforceable Agreement Unlocks
When deciding support, parents should fix the amount, payment period, timing, and bank account in concrete terms and keep the agreement in writing rather than verbal, using the Ministry of Justice model agreement as reference.1
A notarial deed, the 公正証書 (kōsei-shōsho, "notarial deed"), that meets the conditions and contains an execution-consent clause lets the receiver start compulsory execution immediately on default. No family court mediation or adjudication comes first.10 The clause states that the payer accepts immediate enforcement if payment lags, using the courts' standard wording.10
Without that clause, even a notarized agreement cannot support compulsory execution. The deed must contain the 強制執行認諾文言 (kyōsei-shikkō-dakunoke-monku, "execution-consent clause") alongside the support terms.10
Qualifying debt titles for direct enforcement include family mediation records, adjudication documents, judgments, settlement records, and notarial deeds with execution clauses. Mediation records need no execution writ, while notarial deeds require one from the notary office that made the deed.4
Good to know
A Verbal Promise Cannot Be Directly Enforced
Relying on a verbal promise is the most common way support becomes uncollectible. Ministry guidance directs parents to fix the amount, period, timing, and account in writing using its model agreement, because only qualifying written titles unlock compulsory execution: a mediation record, an adjudication, a judgment, or a notarial deed with an execution-consent clause.1104
The Table Assumes Public School Costs
Budgeting only the table figure understates costs when a child attends private school or needs ongoing medical care. The table assumes public school and excludes housing loans and regional differences, so documented extras are negotiated first and taken to mediation or adjudication with evidence, such as tuition statements or medical receipts, if talks fail.6
Start Enforcement Paperwork Before Arrears Pile Up
Waiting months after payments stop only deepens the shortfall. Attachment reaches future scheduled payments as well as arrears, the support creditor collects one week after service on the payer, and the one-stop petition combines disclosure, workplace identification, and attachment in a single district court filing for 2,000 yen plus 4,000 yen plus postage.948
See also
- Child Custody (Shinken) and the Sole-Custody Reality
- The Four Divorce Paths
- The Kyogi-Divorce Form and Its Limits
- International Divorce and the Hague Convention
- Spouse Visa After Divorce
- Child Benefit (Jidō Teate)