Sendai City General Call Center “Mori-no-miyako Teach Me Helpline” Launched

In November, the City of Sendai launched the Mori-no-miyako Teach Me Helpline,” a comprehensive call center to give centralized responses to questions about procedures and schemes of Sendai City, and inquiries related to the municipal government.

Operators will give easy-to-understand explanations on municipal government related services such as how to issue a residence record, or how to correctly sort and dispose of waste. This is inaddition, a one-stop call center for answering inquiries which are tied to multiple departments such as when completing moving procedures, or when you’re not sure which department to ask. Support is available in five languages, English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Nepali. 

• Call Center : Tel. 022-398-4894
• Hour of Operation:

Weekdays-8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Weekends, National holidays, December 29- January 3 - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

City Services During the Year-End and New Year Period

City services, except those mentioned below, are scheduled to be closed from December 29 (Tue.) to January 3 (Sun.). As ward offices and other service counters are usually crowded before and after this period every year, we recommend that you visit early to avoid the peak period.

Ward Offices

Each ward office and general branch office will provide the following services from the security room on a 24-hour basis(8:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. for the Akiu General Branch Office) from Dec. 29 (Tue.) to Jan. 3 (Sun.):

• Acceptance of notifications regarding family registers, such as reports of marriage and reports of death.
• Issuance of burial and cremation authorizations.

City Buses/Subway

Time tables and business hours for ticket counters, the Information Center and the Lost & Found Center will be changed during the year-end and New Year period. For more information, please contact the Information Center at 022-222-2256 (8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. from Dec. 29 (Tue.) to Jan. 3 (Sun.)) or see the Sendai City Transportation Bureau website（External link）

Gas Bureau/Waterworks

Gas and waterworks services will be available 24/7 during end of year and New Year period via the following routes:

• Gas Bureau Safety Device: Tel. 022-256-2111(if you think you have a gas leak)
• Waterworks Repairs Reception Center:Tel. 022-304-3299 (burst water pipes, leaks etc.)

Sewerage

Please contact the Sendai City Hall Security Office (Tel. 022-261-1111) if there is a blockage between main sewage pipes and shared reservoirs, or if there is a damageto public manholes, or sewage pipes. Please directly contact a plumber sewage contractor for household drainage system issues.

Closures of sports, education and cultural facilities may differ. Please check directly at the facilities for holiday season closures.

Garbage Collection During Year-End and New Year Holidays

Please put out your garbage at the designated collection area by 8:30 a.m. on the morning of the designated garbage collection day.

Inquiries：Your local Collection Office

Aoba Collection Office Tel: 022-277-5300

Miyagino Collection Office Tel: 022-236-5300

Wakabayashi Collection Office Tel: 022-289-2051

Taihaku Collection Office Tel: 022-248-5300

Izumi Collection Office Tel: 022-773-5300

Medical Care Cost Subsidy for Single Parents on Reduced Incomes due to COVID-19

Single-parent families whose household finances suddenly changed as a result of COVID-19, and had a reduction of income, andare not receiving Medical Cost Subsidy for Single Parents on limited income, are eligible to receive a medical care cost subsidy. 

Those who are newly eligible: both 1 and 2 are applicable 1. After October 1 2020, are a single parent who supports a child aged up to 18 years old before the fiscal year ends, and have a fixed address in Sendai. 2. whose household finances changed drastically as a result of COVID-19 and their income was reduced, and the recipient or legal guardian’s income from February 2020 fulfills the criteria standard for receiving the Medical Care Cost subsidy for Single Parents .

Application Period: Until March 31 (Wed.), 2021

For further details please check the City of Sendai’s Official Website or inquire directly.

Applications available at: National Health Insurance and Pension Section of each Ward office and the Miyagi General Branch Office, Public Health and Welfare Section of Akiu General Branch Office. Form is also available for download on the City of Sendai’s Official Website.

Inquiries: National Health Insurance and Pension Section of each Ward office and the Miyagi Genera lBranch Office, Public Health and Welfare Section of Akiu General Branch Office

Make Use of the High Cost Medical Care System

Within the National Health Insurance System and Advanced-age Medical System, there is a structure for when an individual or member of the same household’s medical costs partial co-payment within the same month (those aged younger than 70 are limited to cases exceeding 21,000 Yen) exceeds the self-pay burden maximum limit, the excess of the high cost medical car is returned when applied for (excludes meals fees during hospitalization and medical expenses not covered by health insurance). Applicable households will be notified roughly three months after receiving a medical examination.

In principal applications can be made from the 1^st of month following the examination, and up to two years after. Applications cannot be made after two years have passed.

Eligibility:Those aged over 70 (excludes households with an active income earner and households that are tax exempt) whose out patient medical costs over the course of one year exceeded the self-pay burden maximum limit (144,000) from August 2019 to July 2020 notified, however had changes to their health insurance partway through and believe that they are applicable despite not receiving a notification should inquire to the below.

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

To those who have newly come of age: 2021 Sendai Coming of Age Ceremony to be held on Sunday, January 10

Time: 2p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Venue opens at 12:30 p.m.)

Venue: Yurtec Stadium Sendai

Eligibility:Those who live in Sendai City and were born from April 2 2000, to April 1 2001(Those who have a resident register in Sendai as of October 31will be sent an invitation in late November. Those without an invitation can also attend.

We expect it to be very crowded on the day so please make your way to the venue early.

Please register your attendance by December 10 by either scanning the code listed on the invitation or accessing the City of Sendai’s Official Website dedicated form.

The parking lot cannot be used. Please come to the venue by public transportation.

Those carrying or drinking alcoholic beverages will be denied entry.

Inquiries:Lifelong Learning Section: Tel. 022-214-8887

Tax Notifications

Inhabitant Tax Deferment and Extension Scheme

View information about the “Inhabitant Tax Deferment and Extension Scheme” in Japanese, English, Chinese,Korean, Vietnamese, and Nepali.

Japanese（External link）｜English（External link）｜Chinese (External link）｜Korean（External link）｜Vietnamese (External link）｜Nepali(External link)

Deadline to Apply for Municipal Housing is December 16

• The Application Guide for Sendai City Municipal Housing will be available from December 4 (Fri.) at the following locations:

Application Section of Sendai City Construction Corporation,Sendai City Hall,Kokubuncho Office 2F
Shimin-no-heya, 1F of Sendai City Hall
Information Desk of each ward office
General branch offices
Family Registration Section of Sendai Station Service Center, Aoba Ward Office (5th Floor of AER)
Certificate Issuance Center
Chuo-Shimin Center of each ward

Lifelong Learning Promotion Center

• Application Method: Choose one available municipal housing unitsfrom the list, fill out the application form attached to the application packet and mail it in the provided envelope by December 16. In the event that there are more applications than available housing, applications will be chosen by lottery.
• Earliest move-in date: February 25 (Thu.), 2021 (tentative)

For more details including eligibility and rent, please see the application packet or contact us.

Inquiries: Application Section of Sendai City Construction Corporation
Tel. 022-214-3604