【Welfare / Nursing Care / Social Assistance】
■Child welfare
・Child allowance is provided for parents until the child(ren) finish junior high school.
・Child support allowance is provided for single-parent households.
・Allowances for (foster) parents of children with disabilities include: special child support allowance, allowance for children with disabilities and medical subsidy systems for severely mentally and physically disabled persons.
■Nursing care
・This system is based on the concept that the whole of society supports the elderly and people in need of nursing care, and any foreign national resident of Japan of 40 years of age or older is required to pay a separate extra premium for nursing care. If you are recognized as in need of nursing care, you are able to access a nursing service at any age by paying 10% of the total expense.
■Welfare for persons with disabilities
・Persons with physical, intellectual, or mental disabilities and who are in possession of Identification Booklets can receive benefits such as tax deductions, subsidization of medical expenses, and transportation expense discounts.
■Social Assistance
・Households having trouble making a living due to illness and/or injury are able to receive assistance to achieve financial independence. Permanent foreign residents, etc. who fulfill certain requirements are also eligible to receive these benefits.
＜Related organizations＞
●Processing and general inquiries
（Child welfare, nursing care, welfare for persons with disabilities）
・Municipalities in Hokkaido (Multilingual)
/soudan/guide/shichoson.xls
（Social Assistance）
・Health and Welfare Division, Department of Health and Welfare, Hokkaido Government (Japanese)
http://www.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp/hf/feg/hog/hogoanai2.htm
City: Municipal Welfare Office
Town, Village: Municipal Office or Social Welfare Division of Hokkaido subprefectural bureaus
（Regional Welfare Activity）
・Hokkaido Council of Social Welfare, Municipal councils of social welfare (Japanese)
http://www.dosyakyo.or.jp/chiiki_seikatsushien/window.html