Support is available at Tokyo Tech for researchers who are pregnant, as well as those who have children or other family members requiring care.

Child Care Support

Tokyo Tech offers various types of child care support, from pregnancy including:

• Assistant staffing program
• Lounges on campus for pregnant and nursing women
• Books relating to childbirth and child-raising are available for borrowing at the Gender Equality Section. (The list is available here.)
• Tokyo Tech Babysitting Support Service (internal access only)

The Tokyo Tech Babysitting Support Service is available to Tokyo Tech members in cases when the child’s primary caregiver or childcare service is not available. Temporary babysitting service can be provided at home or on campus for children between 57 days and sixth grade. Registration is required.

When your Child is Sick

Sick/Injured Child Care Leave

Full-time employees providing care for a sick or injured child (including immunizations) of third-year elementary school age or younger are eligible for paid leave for up to 5 days (can be divided and used by the hour) or 10 days in the case of two or more children. Short-time and specified fixed-term staff are eligible for unpaid leave limited to the same conditions.

Medical Expense Subsidies

Some local governments provide subsidies to their residents for personally-borne expenses for hospital care of children covered by health insurance. Terms and conditions of subsidies vary between local governments, and application is necessary in many cases.

Below is eligibility information (current as of October 2020) on subsidies provided by local governments in the areas of Tokyo Tech’s main campuses. Please contact the office of your local government for further information.

• Meguro-ku and Ota-ku
  • Terms of Eligibility: From birth to the March 31 following the day the child turns 15 years of age
  • Yokohama
    • Terms of Eligibility: From birth to the day before the child turns 1 year of age.
    • For children of age 1 and above who have not yet graduated junior high school, subsidies for some types of hospital care are also available if the guardian meets certain income restrictions.

Sick Child Daycare

You generally cannot leave a child at a nursery or a daycare center if he or she is sick. To be prepared in case you are ever unable to look after your sick child, it is a good idea to know what government services and care facilities for sick children are available in your area.

• List of sick child daycare facilities (Japanese)
• Tokyo Tech also provides the following Service: Tokyo Tech Babysitting Support Service (internal access only)

Family Care Support

Support is also available for Tokyo Tech researchers who provide care for family members due to injury, illness, aging, or disability. These include unpaid leave, support for hiring assistant staff, and limitations on overtime.

For more information, visit the Gender Equality Section, the Diversity Promotion Office website.

Reference

Information on Support Services for People Raising Children & Providing Care to Family Members

Last updated August 8, 2023