Calculator, Japan
How much does it cost to raise a child in Japan?
An estimate from birth to 18 in yen, scaled by household income, with a public or private school track.
Total, birth to 18
￥16,387,500
for a child (Japan)
All public: matches this page's default. Juku (cram school) spending is included at typical levels for this track. Source: MEXT Survey of Learning Expenses, FY2023, published December 2024.
What this means
Spread over eighteen years that is about ￥75,868 a month. Treat it as an order of magnitude: your own childcare and housing costs will move it more than any national figure.
A planning estimate. The national starting figure and the income and regional scaling are our own approximations, not figures from a single published study. Excludes higher education unless you tick the box.
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What this result means
Education dominates the Japanese figure, including juku. Choosing an all-private track raises education spending by roughly 3.3 times while leaving every other category unchanged, which is why the total moves so sharply.
Like every estimate on this site, this is an order of magnitude rather than a forecast. Your own childcare and housing costs will move it more than any national figure.
Assumptions and limits
- The national starting figure is our own planning estimate. It has not been traced to a single published national study, and we say so rather than cite one that does not contain it.
- Estimates are spread across eighteen years, not a bill due now.
- Higher education is excluded unless you tick the box.
- Income scaling and regional multipliers are broad approximations.
- Assumes a two-parent household.
- Currency amounts are not converted between countries.
Sources
- Geography
- Japan
-
Survey of Learning Expenses (子供の学習費調査)
MEXT · data year FY2023, published December 2024 · Japan
Basis of the roughly 3.3 times ratio between all-private and all-public education paths.
The source above supports the specific adjustment named in it. The national starting figure itself is our own planning estimate.
The decision behind the number
Money · QuestionHow much does it cost to raise a child?
The figure most often quoted is about $233,600 from birth to age 17, from the USDA, for a middle-income married-couple family with a child born in…
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