Tokyo Hearing Aid Subsidy 2026: All 23 Wards Compared

Ceiling amounts for all 23 wards (FY2026) - 16 wards now pay taxable residents too

* Amounts confirmed on each ward's official page as of 3 October 2026. "Tax-exempt" means the applicant's own resident tax unless noted otherwise. Itabashi, Nerima, Arakawa, Edogawa and Nakano had not updated their pages since 2025 or earlier, so confirm with the ward before applying. Each ward's page is listed in the Sources section at the end.

Many wards use the odd figures ¥144,900 and ¥72,450 because the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's standard subsidy base for municipalities is ¥144,900 (at a 1/2 subsidy rate). Wards that simply apply the metropolitan standard pay tax-exempt residents the full amount and taxable residents half[Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Social Welfare, Elderly Hearing Communication Support Project (in Japanese)].

Who qualifies - the target is "moderate" hearing loss that doesn't reach the disability certificate

Severe hearing loss (roughly 70 dB or more in both ears) qualifies for a physical disability certificate (身体障害者手帳, hearing grade 6 or higher), and hearing aids are then supplied as an assistive device under the Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act, normally at 10% out-of-pocket cost. The ward subsidies are for people who fall short of that certificate threshold[Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Social Welfare, assistive device benefit (in Japanese)].

• Age: 65 or older in most wards. Chiyoda and Minato use 60 or older.
• Hearing level: Sumida, Shinagawa, Meguro, Nakano, Kita, Nerima, Adachi, Katsushika and Edogawa use a numeric standard such as "40-70 dB in both ears." Other wards require that an ENT doctor judge it necessary.
• Doctor: Minato and Suginami require an opinion letter from a hearing-aid consulting physician (補聴器相談医, certified by the Japan Otolaryngology Society). Other wards also require an ENT exam and opinion letter (the letter typically costs ¥1,500-3,000 out of pocket).
• Frequency: One-time only in some wards (Chiyoda, Taito, Itabashi, Adachi), once every 5 years in others. From FY2026, Ota and Toshima allow replacement.

Application order: exam → apply → approval → purchase → claim. Buying first gets you nothing

1. Get the application form and the doctor's opinion-letter form from the ward office or its website. Each ward has its own required format; a free-form medical certificate often won't be accepted.
2. Have a hearing test at an ENT clinic and get the opinion letter written. Minato and Suginami require a hearing-aid consulting physician; other wards may also require an ENT specialist. The opinion letter is valid for 3-6 months.
3. Apply to the ward and wait for the approval notice. The ward checks tax-exempt status using its own resident-tax records. Review typically takes 2-4 weeks.
4. Buy the hearing aid only after approval. Taito requires a certified hearing-aid specialty store and Ota a store with a certified hearing-aid technician. Mail order and simple sound amplifiers are excluded in many wards.
5. Submit the receipt to the ward and receive the reimbursement. Shinjuku and Koto also offer in-kind provision (receiving a hearing aid the ward has arranged) as an alternative.

Nationwide, as of July 2026, 723 municipalities in 44 prefectures run a similar subsidy[Zen-Nihon Nenkinsha Kumiai survey, 1 July 2026 (in Japanese)]. If you live outside the 23 wards, search your own municipality's website for a hearing-aid subsidy.

The medical expense deduction - usable with a referral letter from a hearing-aid consulting physician; subtract the subsidy received

A hearing aid's purchase cost qualifies for the medical expense deduction only when a hearing-aid consulting physician certifies, in a "referral letter concerning hearing-aid fitting," that it is needed for treatment. Hearing aids bought at a store without going through an ENT doctor do not qualify[National Tax Agency, treatment of the medical expense deduction for hearing-aid purchases (in Japanese)].

• Subtract any ward subsidy received from the medical expense before calculating the deduction. For a ¥200,000 hearing aid with a ¥72,450 subsidy, only ¥127,550 can go into the medical expense deduction.
• The medical expense deduction applies to the amount over ¥100,000 a year (or 5% of income if income is under ¥2 million). People living on pension income alone often have low income, so the 5% line applies, and the hearing aid alone can be enough to trigger the deduction.
• Seeing a hearing-aid consulting physician for the ward subsidy application lets you use the same referral letter for the medical expense deduction. It's efficient to see the doctor once and get both documents.

See how the medical expense deduction is calculated, and for pension recipients, tax and tax filing on pension income. Since many wards base the subsidy amount on resident tax exemption, check your own status in the conditions for a resident-tax-exempt household.

Summary

• All 23 Tokyo wards offer a hearing-aid purchase subsidy for older residents, with ceilings from ¥144,900 (Chiyoda, Minato, Taito, Katsushika) down to ¥20,000 (Edogawa)
• In April 2026, Sumida (¥72,450 / ¥40,000), Meguro (¥70,000) and Ota (¥50,000, expanded to taxable households) raised their amounts, and Toshima and Ota began allowing replacement every 5 years
• Every ward requires applying and getting approval before purchase; applying after buying is not accepted
• Eligibility is for moderate hearing loss (roughly 40-70 dB in both ears) that doesn't qualify for a physical disability certificate, and requires an ENT doctor's opinion letter
• A referral letter from a hearing-aid consulting physician also unlocks the medical expense deduction; subtract any subsidy received from the medical expense first

Sources

• Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Social Welfare, "Elderly Hearing Communication Support Project" (in Japanese) and "Assistive device benefit" (in Japanese)
• National Tax Agency, "Treatment of the medical expense deduction for hearing-aid purchase costs" (16 April 2018) (in Japanese)
• Zen-Nihon Nenkinsha Kumiai, "List of municipalities offering hearing-aid purchase subsidies" (as of 1 July 2026, PDF) (in Japanese)
• Each ward's official page: Chiyoda (in Japanese), Chuo (in Japanese), Minato (in Japanese), Shinjuku (in Japanese), Bunkyo (in Japanese), Taito (in Japanese), Sumida (in Japanese), Koto (in Japanese), Shinagawa (in Japanese), Meguro (in Japanese), Ota (in Japanese), Setagaya (in Japanese), Shibuya (in Japanese), Nakano (in Japanese), Suginami (in Japanese), Toshima (in Japanese), Kita (in Japanese), Arakawa (in Japanese), Itabashi (in Japanese), Nerima (in Japanese), Adachi (in Japanese), Katsushika (in Japanese), Edogawa (in Japanese)

* Amounts and requirements confirmed on each ward's official page as of 3 October 2026. Rules can change during the fiscal year, so confirm the latest requirements with the ward office before applying. This article is general information; consult a tax office or tax accountant for decisions about the medical expense deduction and other individual matters.