The Points-Based Hoikuen Allocation System

The Hoikuen points system decides which families get a licensed daycare place when applications exceed capacity.¹² Missing how it scores your household can cost you the April entry you planned around.

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at your municipal ward or city office childcare counter and the Children and Families Agency site.

Overview

A licensed hoikuen place is allocated by your municipality, not by the daycare itself.¹ When more families apply than there are places, the ward or city office ranks every applicant household with a points system and fills each hoikuen from the top of its ranked list.¹²

Every municipality uses the same two-layer shape: a base index per parent plus household adjustments. The exact values, categories, and tiebreakers differ by municipality, so there is no national score table to memorize.³¹²

National waitlists fell from a 2017 peak near 26,000 to 2,254 children as of April 1, 2025, then rose to 2,435 as of April 1, 2026, with Tokyo accounting for 1,113 of that 2026 total (as of 2026-08-28; confirm current figures with the Children and Families Agency).⁴⁵ Oversubscription now concentrates in major urban wards and infant classes, while many municipalities outside city centers have capacity.¹

Who the system applies to

The system applies to families seeking a licensed place for a child from 57 days old up to age 5.¹ Infant places under age 1 are the scarcest, and not every facility accepts infants.¹

Families who only want half-day kindergarten education without proving a need for childcare do not go through this allocation. They apply directly to a yochien or equivalent track instead.¹

Proving Need for Childcare First

Before any scoring, your family must show a need for childcare, known as 保育の必要性 (hoiku no hitsuyōsei, "need for childcare").¹ The test is simple: neither parent can look after the child full time at home during daycare hours.¹

You file everything with the municipal childcare counter, not with the daycare. The packet centers on an application form plus proof of the need reason for each parent.⁶¹⁷

Work, study, medical, and caregiving qualifying reasons

Qualifying reasons include outside-home work, self-employment or freelance work, job seeking, school or vocational training, pregnancy or recent childbirth for care of an older child, parental illness or disability, and caregiving for a co-resident family member.³⁶¹

Shibuya requires documentary proof per reason for every guardian in principle. Employees submit an employment certificate, self-employed applicants add tax or business-registration evidence, job seekers file a job-search declaration, and birth, illness, or caregiving cases each have their own certificate or handbook evidence.⁶

Job seeking is valid but scores well below employment in every ward table surveyed.³¹² Self-employment at home can also score below outside-home work at equal hours unless you document it as an established outside-facing business (as of 2026-08-18; confirm current figures with your ward office).³

How the Points System Scores Families

Each parent receives a base score independently, the two are summed into a household base total, and household adjustments are then added or subtracted.³² Work hours on the certificate include break time, and parents on shortened childcare-hours schedules are still scored on regular contracted hours in Arakawa.³

A dual full-time outside-home household at 20 days and 8 hours per parent totals 40 base points in Arakawa terms (20 plus 20) before adjustments (as of 2026-08-18; confirm current figures with your ward office).³ That 40-point line is the typical starting line in competitive Tokyo wards, and adjustments decide who actually gets in.²

Base scores from parents work and status

Arakawa publishes the clearest worked example of a ward base table. Figures below are Arakawa values current as of the date shown; your ward uses its own numbers (as of 2026-08-18; confirm current figures with your ward office).³

Situation (per parent, Arakawa)	Base points	As of	Source
Outside-home work, 20-plus days and 8-plus hours	20	2026-08-183	3
Outside-home work, 20-plus days at 6 to under 8 hours	18	2026-08-183	3
Outside-home work, 20-plus days at 4 to under 6 hours	16	2026-08-183	3
Outside-home work, 16-plus days at 8-plus hours	18	2026-08-183	3
Outside-home work, 12-plus days at 8-plus hours	16	2026-08-183	3
Home self-employment, 20 days and 8 hours	20	2026-08-183	3
Piecework at 20 days, 4 hours, and 55,000 yen monthly income	15	2026-08-183	3
Job offer or job-seeking band, top band	15	2026-08-183	3
Pure job seeking with no offer	8	2026-08-183	3
Pregnancy and childbirth	12	2026-08-183	3
Full-time study for employment or startup	16	2026-08-183	3
Language-school attendance for language acquisition	10	2026-08-183	3
Hospitalization, bedridden home care, or severe disability grades	20	2026-08-183	3

Copy no ward table but your own

Arakawa numbers illustrate the shape, not your score. Wards set different bands and values, so read your own ward enrollment booklet before estimating anything.³²

As a cross-ward shape check only, practitioner guides describe full-time work near 160-plus hours per month around 20 points, part-time at 120 to 160 hours around 17 to 18 points, shorter part-time around 12 to 16 points, and job seeking around 8 to 10 points (as of 2026-06-09).¹ Treat this as the shape of the thing, never as your ward score.¹

Adjustment points that raise or lower the total

Adjustments apply after the base sum and decide close races. Arakawa values below are current as of the date shown (as of 2026-08-18; confirm current figures with your ward office).³

Adjustment (Arakawa)	Value	As of	Source
Co-resident grandparent under 65, unemployed and able to help	-6	2026-08-183	3
Out-of-ward resident working inside the ward	-4	2026-08-183	3
Out-of-ward resident working outside the ward	-8	2026-08-183	3
Fee arrears of 6-plus months without just cause	-20	2026-08-183	3
Single-parent household employment	+4	2026-08-183	3
Sibling already enrolled at the requested hoikuen	+2	2026-08-183	3
Re-entry after 2-plus years of childcare leave	+4	2026-08-183	3
Graduation-transfer application for April entry	+4	2026-08-183	3

Single-parent arithmetic in Arakawa adds 20 points to the present parent index for review, on top of the plus-4 single-parent employment adjustment where applicable (as of 2026-08-18).³ Practitioner cross-ward ranges for context run single-parent plus 3 to 5, sibling at the same facility plus 1 to 3, and current unlicensed-care use plus 1 to 3 (as of 2026-04-09).²

The allocation flow runs the same way in every municipality:

Priority Ranking and Tiebreakers

Each requested hoikuen fills its recruiting places from the highest household total downward.⁸ Shibuya publishes per-facility applicant counts, recruiting counts, and the lowest admitted index per round, which shows oversubscribed facilities admitting only above the base line.⁸

You rank multiple choices in priority order on the application form, up to about 10 in surveyed materials.¹⁷ Selection runs across that ranked list rather than a single choice.¹

Unsuccessful April first-round applications generally carry into second-round selection for unfilled places without a fresh filing unless you withdraw.¹

Popular hoikuen admit above the base line

A 40-point dual full-time base can still miss a popular facility or infant class when every applicant holds 40 plus bonuses. List enough ranked choices to survive that math.⁸²

What happens when scores tie

Municipalities apply published tiebreaker rules after totals tie.² Common orders in practitioner guides include lower household income first, longer city residence first, weaker current childcare arrangement first, and longer childcare-leave use first.²

Arakawa states review uses the base index as the foundation with child and household circumstances considered, with case-by-case certification where the table does not list the situation.³ Read your ward booklet tiebreaker page directly, since the exact order is ward-specific.²

How to Apply for April Entry

April 1 is the main intake with the most places.¹ Mid-year entry is possible about six weeks before the target month, but places are scarce, especially for infants.¹⁷

Most cities require first-time applicants to file in person at the childcare counter and receive an acceptance slip at the counter.¹⁷ Bring originals, a seal or pen for signing, residence cards, and the full packet so staff can flag defects on the spot.⁷

Timeline and documents

The representative April-entry cycle below reflects 2026-cycle practitioner guides (as of 2026-06-09; confirm current figures with your ward office).¹⁷

Month	Action	As of	Source
July to September	Tour facilities by advance booking	2026-06-091	1
Early October	Pick up the enrollment booklet and forms	2026-06-091	1
October to November	File with all documents and ranked choices	2026-06-091	1
December	Municipality runs selection processing	2026-06-097	7
Late January	First-round results arrive by mail	2026-06-091	1
February to March	Second-round selection and orientation	2026-06-091	1
April 1	Start with a 1-to-2-week settling-in period	2026-06-091	1

Shibuya ran its FY2026 April-entry cycle on the same autumn-filing shape with linked guidelines, English-language forms, and published vacancy and result lists by round and month (as of 2025-11-07; confirm current figures with Shibuya City).⁶⁸

Core documents are the application form with ranked choices, an employment certificate per working parent issued within 3 months, the family resident record, My Number documents, the child health handbook, and tax or fee-calculation consent, plus adjustment evidence where claimed.¹⁶ Foreign residents add residence-card copies front and back and a Japanese translation of any foreign-language certificate.¹

Get exact work hours on the employment certificate

Ask your employer to write specific weekly hours and days, not just a job title. A vague entry can drop you into a lower band and cost points you earned.²⁷

Since May 2023 the Children and Families Agency publishes a standardized national employment-certificate template, and many cities accept it, though some still require the city-designated form (as of 2026-04-09).⁷ Allow 1 to 2 weeks for employer completion.⁷

Listing multiple hoikuen in priority order

List 5 to 10 facilities in priority order; listing only 1 or 2 top choices lowers the chance of any placement.¹⁷ Visit in September before ranking, since most tours require advance booking and fill by mid-September.¹⁷

February second-round selection covers unfilled places for families who missed the first round or were not placed (as of 2026-06-09).¹ Keep the application active rather than withdrawing if you want that carryover.¹

Dual-Income and Foreign-Resident Scoring Reality

Dual full-time employment produces the highest common base total, 40 in Arakawa terms, which is why dual-income households start competitively in urban wards (as of 2026-08-18).³² The system rewards documented work hours, not income level or nationality.³

Foreign-resident households where both parents work full time therefore enter at the same competitive base line as Japanese dual-income households. No separate foreign-resident track or penalty applies in the surveyed ward materials.³⁶¹

Practical disadvantages for foreign residents are documentary and linguistic rather than scoring. Forms, certificates, and counter filing run in Japanese with limited English support, and foreign-language evidence needs a Japanese translation.¹⁷ Wards with many international residents vary in multilingual or interpreter support, so call ahead.¹

One exception is structural: dependent-visa households face a scoring ceiling through work-hour limits. Dependent status holders may work up to 28 hours per week with permission, which maps to a lower hour band than full-time employment.¹

The terms below recur throughout this article:

Japanese term	Romaji	English gloss
利用調整	riyō chōsei	Use adjustment; needs-based selection
基準指数	kijun shisū	Base index per parent
調整指数	chōsei shisū	Adjustment index for the household
就労証明書	shūrō shōmeisho	Employment certificate
待機児童	taikidōji	Waitlisted children
不承諾通知書	fushōdaku tsūchisho	Rejection notice

Good to know

File in November or lose the April advantage

April-entry filing closes in November in surveyed cycles, and missing it leaves only scarce mid-year places or the next April.¹⁷⁶ Submit in early November so counter staff can flag document defects before the deadline closes.⁷

An employment certificate older than 3 months, missing adjustment evidence, or a last-week filing with no time to fix errors are the most common avoidable failures.¹⁷

A high score does not guarantee your first choice

Even a 40-point dual full-time base can fail at a popular facility or infant class when every applicant holds 40 plus bonuses.⁸² Per-facility applicant-to-place ratios and lowest-admitted-index lists show oversubscribed sites admitting only above the base line.⁸

Bridge care while waitlisted, such as unlicensed daycare around 40,000 to 80,000 yen per month (as of 2026-06-09), costs more than a licensed place and is only partly documented as an adjustment bonus.¹ Budget for that gap before you need it.

Your ward table is the only table that counts

Copying Arakawa values, Shibuya procedures, or cross-ward illustrations into another municipality application misstates your score.³⁶² Each municipality publishes its own point table, deadlines, forms, and tiebreakers, and the Arakawa and Shibuya structures already differ in layout and categories.³⁶

Search for your city name plus utilization criteria, or pick up the enrollment booklet at the childcare counter, and estimate only from that table.²

Rejection letters unlock fallback options

A rejection notice sounds final but preserves the waitlist carryover in most cities unless you withdraw.¹ It opens February second-round selection, supports bridge applications to unlicensed care, and documents parental-leave extension.¹⁷

If you plan to extend leave on the back of a rejection, confirm the required notice documents before the deadline for your employer and insurer.¹

See also

• Hoikuen vs. Yochien vs. Nintei Kodomoen
• The Waitlist Problem (Taikidoji)
• After-School Care (Gakudo Hoiku)
• Hoikuen: Japan's Licensed Daycare for Working Parents
• Yōchien: Japan's Half-Day Kindergarten for Ages 3-5
• Ninka-Gai: Unlicensed Daycare in Japan

References

Footnotes

1. Childcare in Japan (Susumu, named author). How to Apply for Licensed Daycare (Hoikuen) in Japan. https://childcareinjapan.com/article/?slug=how-to-apply-for-hoikuen (published 2026-06-09) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³ ↩⁴⁴ ↩⁴⁵ ↩⁴⁶ ↩⁴⁷ ↩⁴⁸ ↩⁴⁹ ↩⁵⁰

2. LO-PAL (Taku Kanaya, named author). Japan Hoikuen Points Decoded: Calculate Your Score Before You Apply. https://lo-pal.app/guide/en/japan-hoikuen-point-system (published 2026-04-09) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷

3. 荒川区 (Arakawa City). 保育実施基準（指数）(Childcare provision criteria index table). https://www.city.arakawa.tokyo.jp/a037/kosodate/hoikuen/shisu.html (page updated 2026-08-18) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³ ↩⁴⁴ ↩⁴⁵ ↩⁴⁶ ↩⁴⁷ ↩⁴⁸ ↩⁴⁹ ↩⁵⁰ ↩⁵¹ ↩⁵² ↩⁵³ ↩⁵⁴ ↩⁵⁵ ↩⁵⁶ ↩⁵⁷ ↩⁵⁸ ↩⁵⁹

4. Jiji Press (English). Children on Nursery Waiting Lists in Japan Up for 1st Time in 9 Years. https://sp.m.jiji.com/english/show/49943 (published 2026-08-28; reports Children and Families Agency survey) ↩

5. Yahoo! News Expert (Fuwaraizo, analysis of Children and Families Agency survey). 待機児童数は2254人…保育所待機児童の実情(2025年発表版). https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/1bbbb0cf1db36bfcca933a71c8b027ff30b1af19 (published 2025-10-19) ↩

6. 渋谷区 (Shibuya City). 令和8年度保育園・認定こども園・幼保一元化施設（長時間保育）入園申し込みについて (FY2026 April-entry application guide). https://www.city.shibuya.tokyo.jp/kodomo/hoiku/hoikuen-nyuen/hoiku_boshu2026.html (page updated 2025-11-07) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

7. LO-PAL (Taku Kanaya, named author). Japan Hoikuen Application Guide: Step-by-Step for Foreign Parents. https://lo-pal.app/guide/en/japan-hoikuen-application-guide (published 2026-04-09) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸

8. 渋谷区 (Shibuya City). 区立・私立保育園の空き状況 (Ward and private hoikuen vacancy and selection-status lists). https://www.city.shibuya.tokyo.jp/kodomo/hoiku/hoikuen-nyuen/hoiku_aki.html (page updated 2026-08-19) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶