Tag Archives: points

All applications for public day care (ninka) in Tokyo are assessed based on a point system designed by each ward. The more points you have, the higher your ranking on the waiting list to get into the public day care of your choice. The point system is supposed to be an objective way of prioritizing those with the greatest need for childcare, but it’s not as clear cut as it seems, and those families that get in often figure out how to manipulate the system in their favor so they have more points.

The following is a sample of a recent point chart that I have on file. The wards update their point scales pretty regularly, and each ward has their own scale, so please only use the below to gain a general understanding of how the point system works. A copy of the most up-to-date point chart will be in the application form you pick up at your ward office.

Most successful applications for public day care have a point total of 40 or more. In the case of two parents working full-time, an application is awarded 40 points total (20 for each full-time worker). However, since pretty much all applications have 40 points, as for the most part people only apply to the public system if both parents are working (because entrance is so competitive), families then try to give themselves an edge by adding extra points. See the last chart below for details on this. But for an example, the most common way to add points above and beyond the 40 is to have your child already enrolled in private day care. If you are already paying for full-time childcare in a private facility (or otherwise), you’re awarded an extra 2 points, which would then give you a total of 42. (The thought process behind this from the ward’s point of view is that if you’re paying for private care, which will be more expensive than public day care, there’s no uncertainty about whether you are really in need of day care or not.)

The first part of the scale is simply based on working hours. You’ll see in looking it over that corporate/company workers seem to be favored over self-employed or family businesses. If you’re self-employed, you can be awarded the full 20 points only if you’re a business owner–but what this exactly means is not clear. If you’re self-employed or work for a family business but are not the business owner or head, then you can’t get the full 20 points. So two spouses working together cannot both get 20 points. And the ward also awards less points to self-employed people working at home as opposed to those in an office or place of business. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, really. It seems that there’s probably some leeway in how you define your job type, but just remember you do have to provide documentation and proof for everything. However, if you work for yourself from home and are technically the owner of your “business,” then you should be able to be awarded the full 20 points.

For families where one spouse is not working due to special circumstances, the following shows how points are given based on those circumstance. For families eligible for these points who have successful applications, in most cases one spouse will already have 20 points for working full time (see above chart) and then for the non-working spouse with special circumstance, points will be awarded as detailed below. Single-parent households also pick up more points here.

The last part of the chart below shows you how extra points are added and subtracted to an application’s total. Remember, most successful applications already have the 40 points for having two full-time workers in the family, but then it’s a matter of finding a few extra points to give you an edge over all the other dual income families in the application pool. Those points are picked up (or lost!) for reasons outlined below.