Welfare Back Pay: Claim by 31 July 2027 After Court Ruling

In short: a claim is needed for "households whose assistance ended" and "households that received assistance from another municipality"

Based on the MHLW Social Welfare and War Victims' Relief Bureau Director-General's notice of 20 February 2026 and the consultation centre's guidance[MHLW notice (PDF, in Japanese)].

• No payment is made for people who have died. Their right is treated as extinguished, nothing goes to the bereaved, and their share is deducted pro rata by household size.
• Months in which you worked and received ¥0 in livelihood assistance are still covered (for example, months with medical assistance only).
• Foreign nationals are also eligible.
• Households that started receiving assistance in October 2018 or later are covered only if they had the disability supplement, year-end lump sum or similar, and the amounts are a few hundred yen a year to a few hundred yen a month. Without such supplements the amount is zero[Sagamihara City].

How much: 0.8 to 2.4% of the benefit standard for August 2013 to September 2018, about ¥85,000 to ¥105,000 for a single person

On 27 June 2025 the Supreme Court held that the "deflation adjustment" (▲4.78%), one part of the three-step cut to the livelihood assistance standard from 2013, was illegal because the decision process, which relied solely on the rate of price change, contained errors and omissions. After review by an expert committee, the state decided to replace the ▲4.78% with a ▲2.49% adjustment based on actual consumption and to pay the difference as a supplementary payment. The other cut, the "distortion adjustment", was not ruled illegal and is excluded[MHLW, direction of the response (PDF, in Japanese)].

The calculation multiplies the benefit standard of the time by a monthly payment rate.

• August 2013 to March 2014: +0.8%
• April 2014 to March 2015: +1.6%
• April 2015 onwards: +2.4% (the year-end lump sum is +2.4% for the whole period)

Estimates published by the MHLW consultation centre[Supplementary payment consultation centre (in Japanese)]. Sagamihara City gives ¥100,000 for a single 50-year-old and ¥148,000 for a couple aged 65; Yokohama says "from a few hundred yen to ¥100,000 to ¥200,000".

The state budgeted ¥147.5 billion in the fiscal 2025 supplementary budget (¥105.5 billion of it for the supplementary payments themselves) and expects "roughly ¥100,000 per household". Payments to 530,348 households had been decided by the end of July 2026[MHLW, status of payment decisions (PDF, in Japanese)]. Plaintiffs in the lawsuits receive a special payment equal to the difference from the level with no cut at all (roughly ¥200,000).

How to claim: the claim form, ID, family register and bank details, with a decision in about a month

1. Contact the welfare office of the municipality that paid the assistance at the time. Not where you live now. If you cannot remember which one, or find it hard to call, the MHLW consultation centre (0120-179-445, weekdays 9:00 to 17:00, also weekends and holidays from August to October) will tell you and can post you a claim form.
2. Fill in the claim form. The national standard form is on the MHLW website and is also available from municipal websites and counters[Standard claim form (PDF, in Japanese)].
3. Gather the documents. (1) A copy of the claimant's ID. (2) A copy of the family register (全部事項証明書) for all household members, in principle issued within the last three months; foreign nationals submit a copy of the resident record instead. (3) A copy of the passbook or cash card for the receiving account. (4) A consent form. You do not need any document proving you received assistance; the municipality checks its own records[MHLW, claim procedure (in Japanese)].
4. Submit by post, electronically or in person. The method depends on the municipality. A notice of payment or non-payment arrives about a month after submission, followed by the transfer (per Sagamihara and Hachioji guidance).

The family register is not required in two cases: when you go to the counter in person and your identity is confirmed, and when you were a single-person household for the whole period and your status can be confirmed through electronic filing such as Mynaportal. The ¥450 fee per copy of the family register is your own cost.

Claims cannot be made after the deadline of 31 July 2027 (Toshima Ward states that "no supplementary payment can be made without a claim"). Hachioji City accepts a 31 July postmark, but practice varies, so file early.

How the money is treated: not counted as income, tax-free, exempt from seizure, and no effect on residence tax status

• If a household currently receiving assistance receives it, it is not counted as income. It cannot, however, be used to buy items that recipients are not allowed to own.
• As assistance money, Articles 57 and 58 of the Public Assistance Act apply: it is not taxed and cannot be seized.
• If a household no longer on assistance receives it, there is no effect on the residence tax exemption threshold or on other benefits. Receiving it does not make you exempt from residence tax either[Yokohama City].

Separately, from October 2026 the special price-relief supplement to livelihood assistance rose from ¥1,500 to ¥2,500 per person per month for one year. How income is assessed when you work while on assistance, and how much you keep, is explained in how much is left when you work while on public assistance; the background to the ruling and a comparison with the minimum wage is in minimum wage versus public assistance.

Summary

• The difference (0.8 to 2.4%) on livelihood assistance for August 2013 to September 2018 is paid as a supplement. If you are still receiving from the same municipality, no claim is needed and payment has run since March
• Households whose assistance ended, or who moved in partway, must have the household head at the time file with the municipality of the time. Claims run 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027
• Guide amounts: about ¥105,000 (city) or ¥85,000 (rural) for a single person in their 60s, about ¥204,000 for a couple with a child. Started in October 2018 or later: only supplements, a few hundred yen
• Documents: claim form, ID, family register for all members (within three months) and bank details. Decision in about a month
• Nothing is paid for the deceased. The money is not counted as income, not taxed and cannot be seized. Consultation: 0120-179-445

Sources

• MHLW, "Response to the Supreme Court ruling on the livelihood assistance standard" (in Japanese)
• MHLW, "Claim procedure for the supplementary payment of public assistance" (in Japanese) and standard claim form (PDF)
• MHLW, "Consultation centre for the supplementary payment following the Supreme Court ruling" (in Japanese)
• MHLW, Director-General's notice "Supplementary payment of public assistance following the Supreme Court ruling" (20 February 2026, PDF, in Japanese)
• MHLW, "Direction of the response" (21 November 2025, PDF), effects on other systems (PDF), status of payment decisions (PDF), fraud warning leaflet (PDF) (all in Japanese)
• Sagamihara City, Yokohama City, Toshima Ward, Hachioji City and Tochigi Prefecture, "Supplementary payment of public assistance following the Supreme Court ruling" (in Japanese)

This article is general information based on official materials as of 14 October 2026. Amounts depend on household circumstances. For individual cases, check with the welfare office of the time, the consultation centre or a professional.