Inhabitant Tax Payments

Please make your third FY 2016 Inhabitant Tax payment at your nearest financial institution by October 31 (Mon.). If you pay by bank transfer, the transaction will be made on October 31. 
Inquiries: Tax Payment and Administration Section Tel: 022-214-1010

Please don’t forget to file the Loss of Qualification for National Health Insurance Form

If you are enrolled in the National Health Insurance and get a job and enroll in a form of employees’ health insurance, or become a dependent of a family member’s health insurance, please go to the ward office or general branch office which you reside in and file a Loss of Qualification Form as soon as you receive the new insurance card. Please note that your National Health Insurance Card becomes invalid as of the day you enroll in employees’ health insurance.
Inquiries: National Health Insurance and Pension Section of Ward Offices and Miyagi General Branch Office, Public Health and Welfare Section of Akiu General Branch Office

Health Checkups for Children Enrolling in Elementary School Spring 2017 

• Eligibility: Children who were born between April 2, 2010 and April 1, 2011.
• What to bring: Notice of School Entrance Health Checkup (will be sent in early October), indoor shoes, writing utensils.
• We ask that a guardian accompany the child in order to discuss the results of the checkup with the school.
• If your child is unable to receive a health checkup at the assigned school, he/she can receive it at any school convenient to them. You must contact, in advance, both your assigned school and the school where you wish your child to have the health checkup.
• Please do not go by car unless absolutely necessary.
• Some schools offer 30-minute parenting lectures for guardians during health checkups.

For more details, please see Japanese version of the Sendai City Newsletter or contact:
Health Education Section Tel: 022-214-8882

National Health Insurance Premium Reduction for Involuntarily Unemployed persons 

We offer National Health Insurance Premium Reduction System for those who involuntarily left jobs (bankrupt, were fired, or ended their contract).

• Period: From the month of the following day which you left your job to the end of the following Fiscal Year.
• You need to submit notification to the following offices to have your National Health Insurance Premium reduced. (National Health Insurance and Pension Section of Ward Offices and Miyagi General Branch Office, Public Health and Welfare Section of Akiu General Branch Office)
• Required Document: The Eligibility Certificate of Receiving Unemployment Insurance Benefit
• Those who have the Eligibility Certificate of Receiving Special Temporary Unemployment Insurance Benefit and the Eligibility Certificate for Receiving Unemployment Insurance Benefit for Elderly People, are not eligible.

For more details, please see the Japanese version of the Sendai City Newsletter or contact the above offices.

Inquiries: National Health Insurance and Pension Section of Ward Offices and Miyagi General Branch Office, Public Health and Welfare Section of Akiu General Branch Office

Now Taking Applications for Sendai City Childcare Facilities and Services for April 2017

Eligible Childcare Facilities and Services
Nursery schools 
Centers for Early Childhood Education and Care (nursery schools only)
Small-scale childcare services
Home-like childcare services (nursery mothers)
Childcare facilities for company employees

Eligibility
If your child is under the age of 3 (born on April 2nd, 2014 or later), you can apply for the following facilities and services:
Nursery Schools
Center for Early Childhood Education and Care (nursery school only)
Small-scale childcare services
Home-like childcare services
Child care facilities for company employees

If your child is age 3 or older (born between April 2nd, 2011 and April 1st, 2014), you can apply for the following facilities and services:
Nursery Schools
Center for early childhood education and care (nursery schools only) 

Application for Childcare Facilities and Services

• Application Period: Monday, November 7th - Wednesday, December 7th, 2016
• Where to apply: the Home Health Section of Ward Offices or the Health and Welfare Section of the Miyagi General Branch Office with jurisdiction over your first-choice childcare facility or service.
• If you have already applied for Childcare Facilities and Services for FY2016, but have not been accepted and still wish to use childcare facilities and services from April, 2016, you must reapply.
• Application packets are distributed at the Home Health Section of ward offices or the Health and Welfare Section of Miyagi General Branch Offices. You can also download applications and other forms from our official website at:
  http://www.city.sendai.jp/fukushi/kodsodate/hoikusho/1215094_1663.html

Application for Center for Early Childhood Education and Care (Kindergartens Only) and Kindergarten 

• Eligibility: Your child is age 3 or older (born between April 2nd, 2011 and April 1st, 2014)
• Some of the facilities may accept children who turn 3 years old in the middle of the fiscal year.
• Please directly apply to the facility which you wish to send your child to.
• All the Centers for Early Childhood Education and Care and private kindergartens provide day care services. Some of those facilities, such as nursery schools, may provide long hour day care services.

Certification of Need for Childcare
If parents in Sendai are unable to look after their children for any of the following reasons, they can receive childcare certification:

• You are working 64 hours or more per month.
• You are pregnant or have just given birth, and look after your other children.
• You become ill, are injured, or have a mental or physical disability.
• You are providing care for other relatives in your home.
• You are recovering from a disaster such as a fire, flood, or earthquake.
• You are searching for a job (including job searches that begin after you begin to use childcare facilities or services).
• You are attending school over 64 hours a month.
• You are absolutely unable to look after your children for other reasons similar to those above.

Determination of Childcare Facilities and Services Usage
After the screening process of applications and interviews, we will determine the admission for childcare facility or services based on our enrollment criteria. If a childcare facility or service receives more applications than the number of spaces available, the child in the greatest need of care will be given first priority for admission.

Flow Chart from Application to Decision

Apply for childcare services.
↓
Issue the Certification of Need for Childcare.
↓
Send the application result and the notice of childcare fees.
↓
Start using childcare facility or services.

Childcare Fees
Fees for using childcare facilities or services are determined based on the local inhabitant taxes paid by the child’s guardian(s). For nursery schools, fees will be deducted from your bank account.

Childcare Facilities and Services Availability Hours

You will receive either of ‘Certification of Need for Standard Childcare’ or ‘Certification of Need for Limited Childcare’ based on your working hours, commuting times etc. Childcare facilities and services’ availability hours vary depending on the type of certificate. Each facility sets its own hours of availability, generally from 7:00a.m. – 6:30p.m. In general, those who receive the ‘Certification of Need for Standard Childcare’ can use facilities and services for a maximum of 11 hours per day, and those who receive the ‘Certification of Need for Limited Childcare’ can use them for a maximum of 8 hours per day. Each facility has its own extended hours for childcare and services with additional fees charged per hour.

For more detailed information, please check the Application Guide for Childcare Facilities and Services which will be distributed at the Home Health Section of Ward Offices or the Health and Welfare Section of Miyagi General Branch Offices from October 19. You can also check the information on our official website at: http://www.city.sendai.jp/fukushi/kodsodate/hoikusho/1215094_1663.html

Inquiries: Home Health Section of Ward Offices or Health Welfare Section of Miyagi General Branch Office