The Hoken (Health) Centers provide General Physical Checkups and Vaccinations (such as Polio and Tuberculosis). It is recommended that you have your child vaccinated, but it is not mandatory. Please check The LIFE PLAN SUKOYAKA or Tsukuba Newsletter for dates and locations.
The City of Tsukuba offers FREE dental check-ups for children in Tsukuba who are from 2 years of age to under 2 years, 7 months of age at cooperating dental clinics recognized by the City. Don't forget to carry your Mother and Child Health Book (boshi techo), health insurance card (hokensho) and toothbrush. Please call the clinic in advance to make an appointment and inform them that you want to make an appointment for the free dental check-ups for 2 year old children. Contact the Health Division.
From April of Heisei 18 (2006), which is the beginning of the new fiscal year, the maximum age of eligibility for the Infant Medical Welfare Financial Assistance Program, an independently sponsored City program, will be raised from "under 4 years old" to "under 5 years old". Eligible applicants are encouraged to apply.
Apply at any General Service Counter (any Tsukuba City Hall branch office) or at the Health Insurance & Pension Division (Kokuho Nenkin-ka). When applying, please also bring the following documents: an application, your child's health insurance card, parent's (guardian's) bankbook (non-postal account), and name seal. Parents who have moved to Tsukuba after January 2, 2004 will need to present documents attesting to their employment income and any taxable deductions.
Children under 9 years of age who require prescription lenses (eyeglasses or contacts) due to poor eyesight (amblyopia), or acquired (congenital) cataracts are now covered under the National Health Insurance Program. Parents who would like to receive coverage for their children must file an application. Children who have utilized this coverage and are now seeking replacements or new lenses will need to fulfill minimum requirements on length of usage (of the original prescription lenses) to be eligible for new claims. Contact: National Health Insurance and Pension Division
Join a local parents club if you want to meet with other parents and children to swap childrearing stories and participate in fun seasonal events. Contact the Children's Hall (jidokan) closest to you for details.
Children's Clubs provides afterschool day care (Monday to Friday, afterschool hours until 6pm) and holiday programming services (8:30-6pm) for young children whose parents work during the day (Readers from the US might be familiar with a similar "latch-key" children's program called "A-Plus"). Trained guardians provide interaction, enrichment activities, and a safe play area for children who would otherwise come home to an unsupervised, empty house in the early afternoon. Applicants for the 2006 program (April 2006 to March 2007) are now being accepted. Club members pay 4000 yen/month. Fee reduction and exemptions are available. Lunch service is provided during lengthy vacation periods. Children's Club does not operate on weekends, National Holidays, and during the New Year's Holiday.
Eligibility: Children (1) who are in Elementary grades 1-3; (2) who are left unsupervised at home while their parents are at work during the day; and (3) who are currently registered as residents or students in Tsukuba.
To Apply: Hand in an application directly to a Children's Center. Applications are available at all Children's Centers; the Children's Services Division of City Hall, and online. Application Period: December 16, 2005 to January 16, 2006. Contact: Children's Services Division, Children's Services Manager
Several day-care centers offer walk-in day-care services for children residing in Tsukuba starting from the age of 1 until a year before entering elementary school.
Please confirm all fees, application procedures, and necessary items each child needs to bring with the respective day-care centers listed below. Fees include unit rates (day, half-day, hourly, etc.), extensions, school lunches, and snacks. Rates also differ according to whether or not the child is a registered city resident. Fees are usually paid at the time of application. Operating hours for each center will vary and all centers have an attendance limit of 4 - 10 children.
See the chart on page 1 of the July 1, 2005 issue of Kouhou Tsukuba (in Japanese) for details about hours, rates, and eligibility.
For children whose parents are not able to supervise their children because of their work schedules, job-training classes, or job-hunting activities. This day-care service can be provided up to 3 days a week for up to 1 year.
For children whose parents have suffered a serious injury or illness that requires emergency medical care. This one-time service of up to 14 days is offered in cases of disaster, accident, childbirth, and where the parent is under hospice or medical care. Where the parent is required to attend a family-related ceremony/emergency of some type, or due to some other unavoidable reason is not able to attend to parental duties, this service will provide emergency temporary day-care for the child.
This service is provided 2 days per week for children whose parent(s) are not able to attend to parental duties due to mental and physical stress, or other personal reasons.
This service is specifically designed for infants registered in Tsukuba who are suffering from an illness or medical condition which prevents them from receiving group day-care and whose parent(s) cannot attend to parental duties at home due to personal reasons such as work, injury, accident, childbirth, and the 4 major traditional ceremonies of Japanese life. This service is only offered for a single 7-day period to children with qualifying medical conditions who are cleared to attend the day-care center.
Appropriate illnesses include common ailments such as colds and digestive problems, infectious diseases such as chicken pox and rubella/measles, chronic conditions such as asthma, and injuries such as broken bones. Up to 4 children can receive care at the Peter Pan facility at Tsukuba Memorial Hospital from 8am to 6pm on weekdays and from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.
The cost is 1500 yen for half a day, which includes lunch and a snack. The service is free for families receiving welfare assistance. If the child's condition worsens, he or she may have to be seen by a doctor, in which case other fees may apply.
To use this service, call Peter Pan (029-864-1212) to make a reservation, fill out a form, and then pay for one day of service on the first day. Children can stay for a maximum of 7 days at a time. Bring the following items: Mother and Child Health Handbook, Health Insurance Card, prescribed medicine, spoon, cup, parents nursery school notebook, bath towel, change of clothes, two hand towels, underwear, two plastic bags, diapers, wet wipes (if necessary), one or two kinds of toys or books, milk, bottle (if necessary), drinks, snacks (especially if the child needs to eat a certain kind of food). If the child has food allergies, be sure to make a lunch for him or her.
Contact: Children's Services Division
During the summer vacation kids can get passports and use them to visit research institutes in the area. If they visit three or more institutes, they will earn their PhD. If they write a report on their observations, they can gain the credentials of Dr. of Excellence or Dr. of Extreme Excellence! The passports are available at Tsukuba Expo Center, the Kantetsu Tourist office at Tsukuba Center, and Tsukuba Information Center. Passports are also delivered to all the elementary and junior high schools in Tsukuba.
Topics: Children
Relevant for: Newcomers, Residents
Please note: While all efforts have been made to offer accurate and up-to-date information on this site, the information is presented as a guideline and is subject to change without notification. Phone numbers, addresses, and/or policies may have changed since this page was created. Please contact the appropriate section of the City Hall for confirmation of information and city policies.