From pregnancy until age 3, use housework helpers for up to 224 hours in total at ¥750 an hour

Households living in Minato City that are pregnant or after the birth are covered. If you register an ID in advance, "electronic coupons" are issued and you can use housekeeping and childcare support services at a low cost. The allowance is 128 hours from pregnancy until the day before the child turns 1, 48 hours from age 1 to 2, and 48 hours from age 2 to 3 (up to 224 hours in total). For households with multiples, the same hours are added for each child.

You can also have a postpartum doula (a specialist supporting mothers and babies after birth) come, but this is not a separate allowance; it is part of the hours above. Up to 60 of the 128 hours until the day before age 1 can be used for a doula. Households with multiples can also use up to 45 of the 48 hours from age 1 to 2, and up to 30 of the 48 hours from age 2 to 3, for a doula.

For single-baby households, the user fee for housework support is ¥1,500 for 2 hours, ¥2,250 for 3 hours and ¥3,000 for 4 hours (¥750 per hour). Postpartum doulas are ¥2,000 for 2 hours, ¥3,000 for 3 hours and ¥4,000 for 4 hours. For households with multiples, both housework support and doulas are cheaper: ¥1,000 for 2 hours, ¥1,500 for 3 hours and ¥2,000 for 4 hours. Households exempt from resident tax pay half, and households receiving public assistance pay nothing.

It can be used between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., once a day, in units of 2, 3 or 4 hours. Up to once a day per child, and it cannot be used when the applicant or family is not at home. The cancellation fee is ¥2,475 per hour. You can also apply online through the Child and Family Support Center.