In an attempt to lift the financial burdens placed on single-parent families, some local municipalities in Japan have set up programs to advance child support payments to such households, a move yet to arrive at the national level.

to the affected parent for up to three months ¡ª with a monthly limit of ?50,000 ($321) per child ¡ª in cases of nonpayment from an ex-spouse, and then pursue reimbursement from the former spouse who is obligated to make those payments.

To qualify for the advance payment, one has to be a single parent living in the city of Saitama and meet several criteria, including currently receiving a child-rearing allowance from the government or be of an income level to receive such an allowance, possessing a legal claim to child support, currently supporting the child for whom the support is intended, has not received child support for the previous month and has not applied for this program before.

The program has no restrictions when it comes to the nationality of the divorced parents, but it does require the former spouse paying child support to reside in Japan so that the city government is able to pursue reimbursement, an official the city¡¯s child care support division said on Wednesday.

The city has received two applications as of Wednesday since the program started on April 24, the official, who only gave his last name as Sato, said.

After an application is approved, which normally takes a few days, the city will urge the payer to make the payment. If not received by the instructed date and time, the city will then advance the payment to the applicant.

The city of Saitama is not the first to set up such a program.

The city of Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture in July 2020 became the first municipality in Japan to do so. The city is also the first in the country to pass an ordinance on child support payments that clarifies the obligations of the city and the affected parents, which came into effect in April 2023.

There were 1.34 million single-parent households in Japan as of 2021, according to the latest government survey conducted every five years. Single-mother households made up an overwhelming majority, at 1.19 million (88.8%), while single-father households numbered 149,000.

Some 46.7% of single mothers said they made child support arrangements with their ex-partners, while only 28.3% of single fathers said they did the same.

Only 28.1% of respondents said they were ¡°currently receiving¡± child support payments from an ex-husband, and 8.7% from an ex-wife. Payments averaged ?50,485 per month for single-mother households and ?26,992 for single-father households.