Maternity Allowance: 6,667 Yen a Day, 653,366 Over 98 Days

The short answer: 6,667 yen a day and 653,366 yen over 98 days on a standard monthly remuneration of 300,000 yen

The amount is set by the average standard monthly remuneration over the 12 months up to the first day of payment. Overtime pay does not enter into it. For a single birth on the due date, the figures look like this.

Note: the basis is the Japan Health Insurance Association[JHIA] and Article 99(2) of the Health Insurance Act[Health Insurance Act]. The totals are this site's estimates, assuming the average stays constant.

There is no unpaid gap between maternity leave and childcare leave. The whole picture is in money you can receive for childbirth and childcare.

Two rounds of rounding: divide by 30 to units of 10 yen, then take two-thirds to units of 1 yen

Working out "average / 30 x two-thirds" in one go leaves you a few yen to a dozen yen out. At the point you divide by 30, anything under 5 yen is dropped and 5 yen or more is rounded up to 10 yen[Health Insurance Act, Article 99]. Then you take two-thirds and round 50 sen or more up to 1 yen.

Source: the JHIA's worked example[JHIA]. It is the only example from which the rounding can be read.

The "first day of payment" is the day the allowance is first paid[JHIA FAQ]. A pay rise just before maternity leave is levelled out by the 12-month average. You can look the grades up in the glossary entry for the standard monthly remuneration.

Under 12 months of coverage puts a ceiling of 320,000 yen on the calculation

This bites for a first-year graduate, or a pregnancy soon after changing jobs. If your coverage falls short of 12 months, the lower of your actual average and 320,000 yen is used[JHIA FAQ]. The 320,000 yen figure applies where the first day of payment falls in April of Reiwa 7 (2025) or later; before that it was 300,000 yen.

Note: this site's estimate. On the actual figures it would be 8,447 yen a day and 827,806 yen over 98 days, a difference of about 130,000 yen.

The period is 98 days, and only a late birth adds to it - a multiple birth means 154 days

It covers the days from 42 days before the birth to 56 days after the day following it on which you were off and unpaid[JHIA]. The day of the birth counts in the pre-birth period[JHIA FAQ]. A gap from the due date is not symmetrical: it can add days but never takes them away.

The daily amount is the same, but 154 days changes the total a great deal. On a standard monthly remuneration of 300,000 yen it is 1,026,718 yen, and on 200,000 yen it is 684,838 yen.

Note: the 98 pre-birth days for a multiple birth come from Article 102 of the Health Insurance Act[Health Insurance Act]. The totals are estimates of the daily amount times the number of days.

Who gets nothing and who gets less: a dependent wife, National Health Insurance, voluntary continuation

The maternity allowance is a benefit for the "insured person". Check these four points.

• A dependent on a husband's health insurance: not covered. The JHIA states plainly that "only the insured person is covered"[JHIA]
• A voluntarily continued insured person: not covered. Article 99(1) of the Health Insurance Act leaves them out[Health Insurance Act]
• National Health Insurance: the lump sum is in principle provided under Article 58(1), while the allowance is a discretionary benefit under Article 58(2)[National Health Insurance Act]. In practice the self-employed do not receive it
• People still paid allowances during maternity leave: commuting, housing and family allowances are offset, so only the difference is paid[JHIA]

How the "daily wage" used for that difference is worked out has not been published.

Three conditions that keep it running after you leave your job

If you leave during maternity leave or just before it, payment continues provided you meet the following.

1. One year or more of continuous insured status by the day you leave (periods of voluntary continuation excluded)
2. On the day you leave, you are receiving the maternity allowance or are in a position to receive it
3. You do not work on the day you leave. Working wipes out the payments from the next day onwards

Sources: the JHIA[JHIA] and Article 104 of the Health Insurance Act[Health Insurance Act]. A break in coverage means the periods are not added together.

Apply once 56 days have passed since the birth: gather the employer's and the doctor's certification

The maternity allowance is not paid in automatically. The basic route is to put the pre-birth and post-birth parts together and apply once 56 days have passed since the birth.

1. Get the form. Obtain the "Application for health insurance maternity allowance" from the JHIA or from your employer[JHIA application form]
2. Have a doctor or midwife certify it. There is a box confirming the date of birth, filled in after the birth
3. Have your employer complete the employer's certification. The box certifying the days you were off and the wages paid
4. Submit it to your insurer. The JHIA branch, or your health insurance society if you are in one

You can apply for the pre-birth and post-birth parts separately. The employer's certification is needed each time, but the doctor's certification can be left out if the first application already confirmed the date of birth[JHIA FAQ]. Taking the pre-birth part first brings the money in more than a month earlier.

How it relates to the 500,000 yen lump-sum birth allowance, the sickness allowance and childcare leave benefit

The maternity allowance and the lump-sum birth allowance are separate benefits, and you receive both. Here they are side by side.

Source: the JHIA's "Lump-sum birth allowance"[JHIA]. After you leave a job, both assume a year or more of coverage. The same page also covers the childbirth cost loan scheme, which lends up to 80% of the lump sum interest-free.

The maternity allowance comes first, and the sickness allowance pays only the difference

Even if you are drawing the sickness allowance for severe morning sickness, it switches to the maternity allowance from 42 days before the birth. You cannot draw both for the same period, but where the sickness allowance is the larger, the difference is paid[JHIA]. The mechanics are in the article on the sickness allowance.

Childcare leave benefit starts on the 58th day from the date of birth

Post-birth leave runs for eight weeks from the day after the birth. If childcare leave follows on, it starts on the 58th day from the date of birth[MHLW, childcare leave benefit]. The rate carries on from two-thirds (66.7%) to 67% with no step down. Amounts by monthly salary are in the childcare leave benefit table.

Social insurance premiums are waived during maternity leave, and the benefit is tax-free

You receive two-thirds, but your take-home pay falls by less than that. Premiums stop and no tax is charged.

• Health insurance and employees' pension: on application, waived for both you and your employer, whether or not you are paid[Japan Pension Service]
• There is no 14-day requirement: unlike the monthly test for childcare leave, the waiver runs from the month it starts. Where it overlaps with the childcare leave waiver, the pre- and post-birth waiver takes priority[Japan Pension Service]
• Apply during maternity leave or within a month of its end: the waived months still count as paid months for your pension[Japan Pension Service]

The self-employed have no maternity allowance, but they do get a premium waiver. The pre- and post-birth waiver for Category 1 National Pension members started in April 2019 (Heisei 31) and covers four months from the month before the birth month[Japan Pension Service]. For a multiple birth it stretches to six months from three months before.

National Health Insurance has waived the per-capita and income-based portions for the four months matching the pre- and post-birth period since January 2024 (Reiwa 6)[MHLW, Medical Insurance Committee]. The details are in the article on the pre- and post-birth and childcare National Pension waivers.

On the tax side, both the maternity allowance and the lump-sum birth allowance are tax-free. Article 62 of the Health Insurance Act forbids taxing insurance benefits[Health Insurance Act, Article 62]. Because they are not income, they make no difference to the spousal deduction test either. For how they are treated in a dependency check, ask your insurer.

Check your standard monthly remuneration on your pay slip, and work out your 98 days from the table.

Summary

• With a standard monthly remuneration of ¥300,000, the daily rate is ¥6,667, totaling ¥653,366 for the 98 days (42 days before birth plus 56 days after).
• The calculation divides by 30 and rounds to the nearest ¥10, then takes two-thirds and rounds to the nearest ¥1 — a two-step rounding. For multiple births, the total is 154 days.
• Only the insured person under health insurance themselves can receive it. It is not paid to dependents or voluntary continued insurance members.
• Applications are submitted after 56 days postpartum, with certification from the employer and doctor. You can also apply for the prenatal portion separately in advance.
• Social insurance premiums are exempted during maternity leave, and the benefit itself is tax-free. First, check your standard monthly remuneration on your pay slip.

Reference links (sources)

• JHIA, When you take time off work for childbirth - the period, the worked example, difference payments and continued benefits
• JHIA, Questions on the maternity allowance - the 320,000 yen ceiling and split applications
• JHIA, Lump-sum birth allowance - 500,000 yen and the childbirth cost loan scheme
• JHIA, Questions on the sickness allowance - the "within 10 working days" guidance
• JHIA, Application for the maternity allowance - the form and where to file it
• Health Insurance Act (e-Gov law search) - the provisions on rounding and the period
• National Health Insurance Act (e-Gov law search) - the discretionary benefit under Article 58(2)
• Japan Pension Service, Procedures for pre- and post-birth leave - the health insurance and employees' pension waiver
• Japan Pension Service, National Pension pre- and post-birth waiver - started April 2019, six months for a multiple birth
• MHLW, Guide to childcare leave benefits - the 58th day from the date of birth
• MHLW, Medical Insurance Committee materials - the four-month National Health Insurance waiver

Note: the table and the estimates are this site's application of the JHIA's formula and the rounding in the Health Insurance Act. For supplementary benefits from a health insurance society, and for how long a transfer takes, please check with your own insurer.