Types of Nursing Care Subsidies and Eligibility
Overview of the Main Subsidy Programs
Japan's subsidies for nursing care businesses are provided mainly at three levels: the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; the prefectures; and the municipalities. The main subsidies that Chinese-owned companies in Japan can apply for include:
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare–level subsidies
The nursing care subsidies provided by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have the largest amounts, with annual budgets typically in the tens of billions of yen. The most important among them are the "Nursing Care Staff Treatment Improvement Addition" (介護職員等処遇改善加算, a wage improvement subsidy for nursing care staff), the "Specific Treatment Improvement Addition for Nursing Care Staff" (介護職員等特定処遇改善加算), and the "Grant for Strengthening COVID-19 Countermeasures at Nursing Care Facilities and Business Establishments" (介護施設・事業所における新型コロナウイルス感染症対策の強化に係る助成金), among others.
These subsidies go directly to the nursing care business establishments that actually provide services, to be used for raising staff wages, improving the work environment, purchasing anti-infection supplies, and similar purposes. Eligibility generally requires: obtaining designation as a nursing care insurance facility; having a fixed place of business; having the necessary staff; and establishing a proper management system.
Prefectural and municipal subsidies
Although the amounts of local government subsidies are smaller than national-level ones, the competition to apply is relatively low and the approval cycle is also shorter. The nursing care business grants offered in densely populated areas such as Tokyo, Osaka Prefecture, and Kanagawa Prefecture tend to be more generous. For example, Tokyo rolls out the "Nursing Care Staff Dormitory Lease Support Program" (介護職員宿舎借上げ支援事業, a staff dormitory subsidy) every year, with a subsidy of around 10万日元 per month, while the "Nursing Care Staff Treatment Improvement Addition" subsidy can reach 20万日元 per month.
Eligibility Conditions and Basic Requirements for Nursing Care Subsidies
Requirements for the Business Entity
Companies applying for nursing care subsidies must meet the following conditions:
Corporate status and tax compliance
The company must be a legal entity registered in Japan, in forms such as a kabushiki kaisha (stock company), incorporated association, or medical corporation. Sole proprietorships (individual business operators) may apply for certain subsidies, but the range of options is narrower. The company must complete its corporate registration, obtain a tax registration number (税務番号), and file tax returns on time. When applying, you must submit financial statements and tax filing records for the most recent 3 years to demonstrate that the company is in good operating condition and has no major legal violations.
For newly established companies—for example, those in operation for less than a year—you may need to submit the applicant's personal credit record or a statement of business background in Japan.
Designation as a nursing care insurance facility
This is a mandatory condition for applying for most nursing care subsidies. The company must first apply to the municipal nursing care insurance department to become a "nursing care insurance service provider" (介護保険サービス提供事業所) and obtain designation.
Obtaining designation requires: ensuring a sufficient number of qualified nursing care staff (nursing care staff must hold qualifications such as Certified Care Worker (介護福祉士) or completion of the Practical Skills Trainee program (実務者研修修了者)); establishing facilities that meet legal requirements (for home-based service types, special premises may not be needed; for facility types, a specific floor area and equipment are required); and drawing up service management plans, quality management systems, and related documents.
This process usually takes 3–6 months. We recommend that applicants start this procedure 6 months before opening a nursing care business.
Workplace and staffing
When applying for a subsidy, the company must demonstrate that it has a fixed place of business and staffs it with sufficient personnel as required. Different types of nursing care service have specific staffing requirements:
- Home-based nursing care (in-home care service): a minimum of 2 nursing care staff is required
- Geriatric health services facility (介護老人保健施設): care staff must be assigned at a ratio of "number of residents ÷ 3"
- Day service (デイサービス): staff are assigned according to the number of users and the hours of service
Specific Common Nursing Care Subsidy Programs and Amounts
Staff Wage Improvement Subsidy
The "Nursing Care Staff Treatment Improvement Addition" (介護職員処遇改善加算) is the most common nursing care subsidy and also the largest in amount. This subsidy is intended to improve the wages and treatment of nursing care workers, thereby attracting more people into the nursing care industry.
Eligibility conditions
Obtaining designation as a nursing care insurance facility; drawing up a staff wage improvement plan; committing to use the subsidy to raise staff wages (rather than for other expenses); and staffing a sufficient number of certified nursing care staff.
Subsidy amount
The subsidy is calculated based on company size and the number of staff. It is usually a monthly wage increase of 3,000–6,000日元 per employed nursing care worker, with the annual total subsidy reaching several million yen. The specific formula is: (base unit price × number of staff × number of months).
Taking a day service facility staffed with 10 nursing care workers as an example, the monthly subsidy might be 15–30万日元, with an annual subsidy of 180–360万日元.
Application cycle and payment timing
Applications are usually submitted in two windows each year, in April and October, with approval taking 2–3 months. The subsidy is paid quarterly or monthly, calculated from the month of approval.
New Facility Construction Subsidy
The "Nursing Care Facility Development Cost Subsidy" (介護施設整備費補助金) targets companies newly building or substantially renovating nursing care facilities.
Scope and amount of the subsidy
The subsidy covers construction costs, equipment procurement costs, renovation costs, and the like. The subsidy rate is usually 30–50% of the total investment, and can reach as high as tens of millions of yen. Taking the construction of a 100-bed geriatric health services facility (介護老人保健施設) as an example, with a total investment of about 10億日元, the subsidy might be 3–5億日元.
Eligibility conditions
The company must submit a detailed construction plan, a funding budget table, a facility operating plan, and so on. Some metropolitan areas have location requirements for new facilities—giving priority to facilities built in areas with labor shortages.
Staff Training and Qualification Subsidy
The "Nursing Care Staff Training Facility Cost Subsidy" (介護職員養成施設費補助金) supports companies in training their in-house staff to obtain formal qualifications such as Certified Care Worker (介護福祉士).
The subsidy can cover 50–100% of training costs, with a per-person annual subsidy usually of 50–100万日元. This is very helpful for companies looking to improve service quality and boost their competitiveness.
The Application Process and Required Documents for Nursing Care Subsidies
Step-by-Step Application Guide
Step 1: Identify the target subsidy
Based on your company's current situation, identify the most suitable subsidy program. For a startup, you may need to apply for several programs at once. We recommend making a "subsidy application planning table" that lists all the subsidies your company is eligible for.
Step 2: Prepare the application documents
The documents required differ slightly by subsidy, but usually include:
- Application form (provided by the subsidy-granting organization)
- Certified copy of the corporate registry (法人登記簿謄本)
- Financial statements for the most recent 3 years (決算書)
- Nursing care insurance facility designation notice
- Staff roster and proof of qualifications
- Facility floor plan and proof of the right to use the premises (lease agreement 賃貸借契約書 or proof of property purchase)
- Business plan (事業計画書, explaining the operating plan for the nursing care business)
- Staff wage improvement plan (required for the treatment improvement subsidy)
For Chinese business owners in Japan who are not Japanese nationals, you must also provide:
- A copy of your residence card
- Proof of bank account opening
Step 3: Submit the application
Applications are usually made through one of two channels: electronic submission (using the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's electronic application system, e-Gov) or paper submission (mailed to the relevant department). We recommend choosing electronic submission to speed up approval.
Before submitting, be sure to check that all documents are complete; an incomplete application can delay the entire approval process by 2–4 weeks.
Step 4: Review and correction
After submission, the reviewing department usually conducts an initial review within 2–4 weeks. If there are questions or document defects, it issues a "correction notice" (補正通知), and the applicant must supplement the documents within a specified period (usually 10–20 days).
We recommend responding immediately upon receiving a correction notice, as missing the deadline may result in the application being rejected.
Step 5: Approval and payment
Once the review passes, the applicant receives an "adoption notice" (採択通知). The subsidy then applies for the specified period (usually the fiscal year, April to the following March). The subsidy is usually paid into a designated bank account, on a monthly or quarterly cycle.
Common Document Problems and Solutions
Financial statements do not conform to the Japanese format
If the company previously operated in China, its financial statements may have been prepared under Chinese accounting rules. You will need to engage a Japanese Zeirishi (registered tax accountant) to convert them into the Japanese format. The cost is usually 10–20万日元.
Missing proof of nursing care staff qualifications
If you plan to hire staff with Chinese nursing qualifications, they must first take the "Practical Skills Trainee" (実務者研修) course in Japan (4–6 months) to obtain a Japan-recognized qualification. The subsidy may be able to cover this training cost.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: As a newly established Chinese-owned company, how soon can I apply for a nursing care subsidy?
A: There is no direct restriction between the time since the company was established and the specific time you can apply for a subsidy, but there are two important prerequisites. First, the company must obtain designation as a nursing care insurance service provider (介護保険サービス提供事業所), a process that usually takes 3–6 months. Second, at the time of application, you must submit complete financial statements and tax filing records. For newly established companies (in operation for less than a year), some subsidies may require submission of financial statements for the 6 months after establishment as a reference. To speed up the process, we recommend starting the nursing care designation application immediately at the same time as company registration. Generally speaking, if you register now, you can apply for most subsidies at the earliest in 3–4 months. Some startup support subsidies offered by municipalities are more lenient in approving new companies, which is a good point of entry.
Q2: After applying for the Nursing Care Staff Treatment Improvement Addition, must the company raise employee wages? What oversight mechanisms are there?
A: Yes, this is a mandatory requirement. The subsidy application must clearly commit to using the subsidy to raise staff wages. After approval, the company must execute strictly in accordance with the "treatment improvement plan" (処遇改善計画) submitted, and cannot divert the funds to other uses. Oversight mechanisms include: first, at the end of the application year, you must submit an "achievement report" (実績報告書) proving that staff wages were indeed raised; second, government authorities may conduct on-site inspections, examining payslips and bank transfer records; third, if false reporting or misappropriation of the subsidy is found, the company must return the entire subsidy and may face a penalty; fourth, companies with serious violations are placed on a "dishonest companies list," affecting future subsidy applications. We recommend that companies establish a clear wage management system and handle the subsidy through a separate account to ensure financial transparency.
Q3: If a subsidy application is rejected, or rejected again after correction, can the company appeal?
A: Yes, but the procedure is limited. When an application is formally rejected (as opposed to a request for correction), the applicant has the right to file a "statement of objection" (異議申立書) to appeal. The appeal period is usually within 30 days from the date of receiving the rejection notice. The appeal must submit new evidence or explain why you believe the original review decision was wrong. After the appeal, a higher-level review department reassesses it, usually taking 2–3 months. Note that the success rate of appeals is not high and usually requires sufficient new evidence. A more practical approach is: first, when you receive a correction notice, carefully supplement the documents as required so that the first correction succeeds; second, if you have doubts about the subsidy program itself, you can consult the municipal nursing care insurance section or the prefectural welfare office, which may point out problems in advance; third, consider cooperating with other companies of a similar background to share application experience and document templates.
Q4: After a Chinese-owned company in Japan receives a subsidy, does it still have to pay tax?
A: This is a key tax issue. In Japan, a subsidy is usually treated as "non-operating income" (業務外収益) and must be included in the base for calculating corporate income tax. In other words, the subsidy itself is not tax-exempt, and the company must pay corporate income tax (about 30%) on the subsidy portion. But there is one important exception: subsidies used for designated purposes may receive special tax treatment. For example, a subsidy used to acquire fixed assets may be treated as a capital expenditure rather than income. The specific tax treatment must be discussed with a Zeirishi. My advice is: consult a Zeirishi before applying to clarify the tax implications of the subsidy and factor it into your financial expectations. At the same time, ask your agent or accountant to accurately record the usage classification of the subsidy at the time of settlement, so that you have sufficient evidence to support your tax treatment when the tax authorities review it. Chinese business owners generally underestimate the tax cost of a subsidy; we recommend setting aside 30–40% of the subsidy for tax.
Q5: Several nursing care business establishments belong to the same corporate group. Can they apply for subsidies separately?
A: Yes, but with strict limits. Each independent legal entity can apply for subsidies separately, as long as they all meet the eligibility conditions. But government authorities will review "affiliated companies" to prevent a company from applying for a subsidy multiple times by setting up multiple legal entities (especially for subsidy programs with limited amounts). If two business establishments belong to the same parent company, or jointly operate the same nursing care service program, they are treated as affiliated companies and cannot apply repeatedly for the same subsidy program—but they can apply for different types of subsidies. For example, Company A can apply for the "Facility Development Subsidy" (施設整備補助金), while Company B can apply for the "Staff Training Subsidy" (職員培訓補助金). But if both companies apply for the "Treatment Improvement Addition" (処遇改善加算), they may be rejected. When filing, you must clearly disclose the affiliated companies in the application form. We recommend that the entire corporate group draw up a unified subsidy application strategy to avoid competition and conflict.
Special Reminders: Points for Chinese Business Owners in Japan When Applying
Language and Cultural Barriers
Nursing care subsidy application documents are entirely in Japanese, which is a challenge for Chinese business owners who are not Japanese speakers. Beyond translation, you must also understand specific concepts within Japan's social welfare law system. Recommendations:
- Engage a professional subsidy application agent (usually a Gyoseishoshi or Zeirishi); the agency fee is 5–20万日元 per program
- Communicate with peer companies that have applied successfully to obtain document templates and know-how
- Attend the "subsidy briefing sessions" (補助金説明会) organized by municipalities; these sessions usually offer multilingual support or interpretation
Time Planning
Subsidy applications often have strict deadlines. Miss the deadline and you must wait for the next fiscal year. For most subsidies:
- National treasury subsidies: annual deadlines are usually in August–October
- Prefectural subsidies: deadlines are in June–September
- Municipal subsidies: the timing is the most flexible and may accept applications year-round
We recommend starting now to make a "12-month subsidy application calendar" (12個月補助金申請カレンダー), clarifying the deadline for each subsidy, and starting your application preparation 2–3 months in advance.
Finance and Accounting
Subsidy applications require complete and accurate financial records. For Chinese companies just entering the Japanese market, we recommend:
- Immediately engage a professional accounting firm (monthly fee 3–5万日元) to ensure that day-to-day bookkeeping meets Japanese standards
- Establish a bilingual (Chinese-Japanese) financial record system to facilitate later audits
- Keep all original supporting documents (invoices, bank transfer slips, employee payslips, etc.); government authorities may require 7 years of records
Legal Compliance
Before applying for a subsidy, make sure all of the company's operations comply with the Nursing Care Insurance Act (介護保険法), the Labor Standards Act (労働基準法), and other relevant laws. Common compliance issues include:
- Whether employees have valid residence status and work permits
- Whether the facility has passed fire safety inspection
- Whether the required liability insurance has been purchased
Best Practices for a Successful Application
Case Study: A Chinese-Owned Company's Successful Application
Case: A Chinese business owner, Ms. Li, launched a 12-person day service facility (デイサービス) in Tokyo. Her successful application process was as follows:
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Early preparation (months 1–2): After deciding on the startup project, she immediately consulted a Gyoseishoshi to understand the nursing care insurance designation and subsidy requirements, and simultaneously started company registration and set up an accounting system.
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Obtaining designation (months 3–5): She staffed sufficient nursing care staff (while at the same time applying for a subsidy to cover staff training costs), submitted the designation application to the municipality, and finally obtained "nursing care insurance service provider" (介護保険サービス提供事業所) status.
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Subsidy application (month 6): She applied for three subsidies at once: ① the Nursing Care Staff Treatment Improvement Addition (a monthly subsidy of 15万日元), ② a staff training subsidy (covering the qualification acquisition costs of 2 employees, 80万日元), and ③ an SME support subsidy (a renovation cost subsidy of 200万日元).
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Ongoing management: She established a monthly financial reporting system and produced detailed achievement reports for each subsidy cycle to ensure transparency.
Result: In the first year, Ms. Li obtained subsidies totaling about 500万日元, which covered most of the costs of the first 6 months of operation.
Key Factors for Improving the Success Rate
Thorough early research (raises the success rate by 30%) Do not rush to apply. Spend 2–4 weeks researching relevant laws, communicating with municipal departments, and reading past application cases. Many companies submit non-compliant applications due to insufficient understanding.
Impeccable document preparation (raises the success rate by 25%) The completeness and accuracy of documents directly affect the pace of approval. Missing a single document can delay approval by 2–4 weeks. We recommend making a "document checklist" and going through it item by item.
A reasonable business plan (raises the success rate by 20%) The subsidy-reviewing department will assess whether your business plan is reasonable and feasible. For Chinese business owners in Japan, if the business plan is overly optimistic or too far removed from the reality of the Japanese market, the reviewing officer may have doubts. We recommend basing your data as much as possible on genuine market research.
Active communication with government departments (raises the success rate by 15%) Before and during the application, proactively communicate with the municipal nursing care insurance section and the prefectural welfare department. This not only clears up questions but also creates a favorable impression of your company with the reviewing department, increasing trust.
Summary and Action Plan
For Chinese business owners in Japan, nursing care subsidies are an extremely valuable resource. By fully utilizing various nursing care subsidies, a new nursing care startup can obtain 300–800万日元 in funding support in its first year, greatly reducing startup risk.
The key action steps are:
- Within this week: Determine your nursing care business type (home-based service, day service, facility, etc.) and consult the relevant department.
- Within this month: Engage a Gyoseishoshi or subsidy application agent and begin drawing up a subsidy application plan.
- Within 1–2 months: Start company registration and the nursing care insurance designation application.
- Within 2–3 months: Prepare and submit the subsidy application documents.
Do not wait for the "fully prepared" moment—many Chinese business owners hesitate because they feel the Japanese-language application is too difficult, and end up missing precious application windows. Rather than puzzling it out on your own, it is better to invest 2–5万日元 to get professional guidance; this can help you avoid greater losses.
If you are planning a nursing care business in Japan, or have already established a nursing care company but have not yet applied for a subsidy, please get in touch with us. We offer a free initial consultation to help you assess your company's current situation, develop a subsidy application strategy, and improve your success rate. Scan the QR code below or email us at consultancy@nihongo-support.jp, and our professional team will get back to you within 3 business days.