Children aged 0–2 who do not attend daycare can attend a facility for up to 24 hours a month free of charge
- From 6 months to the end of the fiscal year the child turns 3
- Up to 10 hours a month for people outside the city, if there are openings
Children of families raising children at home who do not attend kindergarten or daycare can regularly attend a daycare center or kindergarten on set days of the week. After a trial from FY2024, full implementation started in April 2026.
The Minato City version has 2 features. One is that it is free; under the national program, there is normally a fee. The other is that each child can use up to 24 hours a month, longer than the national standard of 10 hours a month. Unused hours cannot be carried over to the next month.
It covers children from 6 months of age to the end of the fiscal year in which they turn 3, who are not enrolled in a kindergarten, licensed daycare, certified center for early childhood education and care, community-based childcare program or company-led childcare facility. Minato City residents have priority; people living outside the city can use up to 10 hours a month when there are openings.
As a rule, children attend 2 days a week (3 hours a day) or 1 day a week (6 hours a day). Meals and snacks are also provided. Recruitment is twice a year, for the first half (April–September) and the second half (October–March), with a lottery if there are many applicants. For the second half of FY2026, after the recruitment with an August 14 deadline, an additional recruitment (age 1 and older, for use from November 2, 2026) was also held, and applications for it closed on September 23, 2026 (online).