Govt to Provide ¥20,000 to Child-Rearing Families; One-Time Payment to Be Made for All Families Receiving Child Allowance

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:32 JST, November 20, 2025

The government and ruling parties are set to include in the comprehensive economic measures a plan to provide a one-time payment of ¥20,000 per child aged between zero to 18 eligible for child allowance, according to sources.

The measures are expected to be decided by the Cabinet as early as Friday.

There will be no income restrictions, and the payment will be a one-time lump sum.

They are also considering electricity and gas subsidies for winter, expected to be about ¥7,000 for the average household for three months from January to March next year.

Takayuki Kobayashi, chairperson of the Liberal Democratic Party Policy Research Council, met with his Komeito counterpart Mitsunari Okamoto on Wednesday and conveyed the plan to implement the ¥20,000 payment as a “child-rearing support allowance.” Komeito had requested special emergency support for households with children.

“This measure is coming from the perspective of supporting families raising children amid rising prices,” Kobayashi told reporters after the meeting.

The necessary government expenditures are estimated to be around ¥400 billion. The timing of payments will be left to the discretion of each local government, and the allowance is expected to be deposited into the same bank accounts used for the child allowance, which is paid every two months.

Regarding subsidies for electricity and gas bills used from January to March next year, Kobayashi explained to reporters that adjustments are being made for a scale exceeding ¥6,000 per household. According to government sources, the subsidy for the colder months of January and February will be generous, aiming to provide around ¥7,000 per typical household.

The government initially intended to provide about ¥6,000 in support over three months, but members of the Japan Innovation Party, including Diet Affairs Committee chairperson and advisor to the prime minister Takashi Endo, strongly demanded an increase.

Regarding the scale of the comprehensive economic measures, the government has entered final negotiations aiming for a total exceeding ¥21 trillion, combining expenditures from the general and special accounts for the fiscal 2025 supplementary budget bill with large-scale tax cuts. More than ¥17 trillion is expected to come from the general account. The scale exceeds the ¥13.9 trillion of fiscal 2024. The government aims to pass the supplementary budget bill during the extraordinary Diet session.