A property for an after-school day-service: use zone, ground floor, area and evacuation decide it

In short: a property usable for an after-school day-service is decided by roughly five points — (1) the use zone (Building Standards Act, Table 2: child welfare facilities cannot be built in an exclusive industrial zone, but are permitted in the other 12 zones; low-rise residential zones need a scale check); (2) the training room and other facilities and their area (a ministerial ordinance under the Child Welfare Act plus municipal by-laws and manuals); (3) ease of evacuation (if children's main activity room is above the ground floor, escape routes and fire prevention must be checked); (4) fire service (the classification under item (6)-ro / (6)-ha of the Fire Service Act enforcement order); and (5) seismic standard (new standard = built on or after June 1981). Final feasibility is confirmed at the counters of the specified administrative authority, the municipality (designating authority) and the fire station.

The first question we hear, from operators wanting to start child development support or an after-school day-service and from owners wanting to lease for that use, is always the same: "Will this property pass the designation?" The conditions to look at when choosing a property and the conditions negotiated with the authorities at the designation stage sit on different layers. This article sets out, from the provisions and municipal practice, the conformity conditions a landlord or tenant can confirm at the property-selection stage (use zone, area, ground floor and evacuation, seismic standard, fire service). The designation application itself, and the staffing and area negotiations, are the work of an administrative scrivener, to whom we direct that part.

In which use zones can you open an after-school day-service?

An after-school day-service or child development support office is generally treated under the Building Standards Act as a "child welfare facility, etc." Whether it can be built in a given use zone is decided by Article 48 and Table 2 of the Building Standards Act (Act No. 201 of 1950).

Broadly: you cannot build a child welfare facility in an exclusive industrial zone. In the other 12 use zones it can, in principle, be built. In Category I / II low-rise exclusive residential zones and the rural residential zone, however, limits may apply by scale or relation to the surroundings, so the specified administrative authority must be checked.

Use zone	Building a child welfare facility, etc.
Category I / II low-rise residential, rural residential	In principle yes (scale check may apply)
Mid/high-rise and residential (Cat. I mid/high-rise – quasi-residential)	Yes
Neighbourhood commercial, commercial	Yes
Quasi-industrial, industrial	Yes
Exclusive industrial	No

"Permitted in that zone" is not a guarantee you can open. Even where the zone allows it, you can be stopped by the area, evacuation, fire or seismic points below. Final confirmation of use-zone feasibility rests with the specified administrative authority. On the same "property × licensing" theme, care facilities are covered here, small-scale nurseries here, and clinics here.

How far must the training room's area and the ground-floor point be met to pass?

The designation standard is framed by the "Standards on staffing, facilities and operation of designated day-support businesses" (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Ordinance No. 15 of 2012) under the Child Welfare Act, while most of the actual area figures are set by the municipality (designating authority) in by-laws.

On facilities, an after-school day-service is required to have a training room and the like. The ordinance does not carry a nationwide "X square metres per person"; in practice the training room's area is confirmed against the municipal by-law and manual. At the property stage, rather than raw floor area, we look at whether a partitioned training room can be taken, and whether the necessary partitions — consultation room, toilet, washbasin — can be secured.

The "ground-floor requirement" is where misunderstanding is common. There is no nationwide provision in the designation standard or the Building Standards Act saying it "must be on the ground floor." The ground floor matters for a different reason — ease of evacuation. Where children's main activity room (especially for children who cannot evacuate unaided) is placed above the ground floor, the evacuation rules of the Building Standards Act and municipal practice add checks on escape routes, fire compartments and escape equipment. A single ground floor keeps this point light.

Item	Decided by	Where to check
Partition of training/consultation rooms	Ordinance No. 15 + municipal by-law	Designating authority (municipality)
Training room area	Municipal by-law / manual	Designating authority (municipality)
Ground floor or above	Evacuation rules / municipal practice	Specified administrative authority / designating authority

Whether the area, staffing and partitions conform to the designation standard is negotiated with the authorities by an administrative scrivener. The judgement on whether the layout meets the standard, and the lease/sale brokerage, are handled by us; the designation application and municipal negotiation, by an administrative scrivener — each engaged as an independent business entity, separately.

Using an old detached house or vacant tenancy — what do you confirm for seismic and fire?

Converting a vacant shop or an old detached house is common, and here you look at seismic and fire.

For seismic, the first split is whether the building was built under the new seismic standard, on or after 1 June 1981. Older buildings under the old standard may need a seismic diagnosis or reinforcement. As a place where children spend their days, this cannot be taken lightly.

For fire, treatment changes with the use classification in Table 1 of the Fire Service Act enforcement order. A child welfare facility is classified, by the difficulty of the users' unaided evacuation, as item (6)-ro (facilities mainly admitting/attending people who cannot evacuate unaided) or item (6)-ha. Where classified as (6)-ro, sprinkler equipment and automatic fire alarms may be required even for a small total floor area, changing the fire-equipment burden greatly. Which one applies to an after-school day-service depends on the children's condition, so inquiring with the fire station of jurisdiction per property is the sure route.

Item	What to confirm	Where
Seismic	New standard, on/after June 1981? If old, diagnosis/reinforcement	Architect / specified administrative authority
Fire classification	(6)-ro or (6)-ha (difficulty of unaided evacuation)	Fire station of jurisdiction
Fire equipment	Sprinkler / automatic alarm / escape equipment needed?	Fire station / fire-equipment worker

Compliance with fire-service law is also checked in the designation application. The specific need for equipment is decided by the fire station of jurisdiction, not judged by us (the real estate agent).

From what scale is a use-change confirmation application required? (the judgement goes to an architect)

Converting a former office or shop into an after-school day-service (a child welfare facility) raises the use-change confirmation application.

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Article 87, paragraph 1 of the Building Standards Act provides that, where a building's use is changed to a special building (a use in the (i)-column of Table 1) and the floor area serving that use exceeds 200 m², the confirmation-application rules (Article 6) apply by reference. A child welfare facility is such a special building. Conversely, at 200 m² or less no use-change confirmation application is required (this rise to 200 m² came from the amendment in force 25 June 2019; before that it was 100 m²).

But "no confirmation application = use it as is" does not follow. Even at a scale needing no application, compliance with the Building Standards Act (evacuation, fire prevention) and fire-service law is still required. Whether the change falls between "similar uses" under Article 137-18 of the order can also alter whether an application is needed.

Scale of conversion	Use-change confirmation application
That-use portion over 200 m²	Required (Art. 87(1))
200 m² or less	Not required (but evacuation / fire / fire-service compliance still needed)

Whether that floor area exceeds 200 m², whether it is a similar use, and the design and procedure of the confirmation application are the work of an architect (designer). We confirm the property's floor area and current state and give a view, but the final judgement and the application go to an architect directly.

From the property conformity check to the designation, who handles what?

The view on whether a property conforms to the designation and building standards, and the lease/sale brokerage, are undertaken by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304). The roles divide as follows.

Who	Role
Licensed real estate agent (us)	Confirm use zone, area, current state; lease/sale brokerage
Administrative scrivener	Designation application; area/staffing/partition negotiation
Architect	Use-change confirmation application: need, design, procedure
Fire station / fire-equipment worker	Judge and install fire equipment
Judicial scrivener	Company incorporation; property registration

The designation application goes to an administrative scrivener, the use-change confirmation to an architect, fire equipment to a fire-equipment worker, and incorporation and registration to a judicial scrivener — each engaged directly. These are independent business entities, engaged separately from us. We neither pay nor accept referral fees or introduction commissions. Consultation is free. Business-property matters generally are at business property; property search toward opening, at office and premises.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Can an after-school day-service open in a detached house in a residential (low-rise) area?
A. Under the Building Standards Act a child welfare facility can, in principle, be built in Category I / II low-rise exclusive residential zones. Limits may apply by scale or surroundings, so confirm with the specified administrative authority. In a house conversion you must also check the training-room partition, evacuation, fire and seismic points. In an exclusive industrial zone it cannot be built.

Q. How many square metres must the training room be?
A. There is no nationwide "X m² per person" in the ministerial ordinance; the concrete area is set in the municipality's (designating authority's) by-law and manual. At the property stage we look at whether a partitioned training room, consultation room, toilet and washbasin can be taken. Whether the area and partition conform is negotiated with the authorities by an administrative scrivener.

Q. Can the designation be obtained in a vacant tenancy on the second floor?
A. It can in some cases, but placing children's main activity room upstairs adds checks on escape routes, fire prevention and escape equipment under the Building Standards Act's evacuation rules and municipal practice. A property that fits on a single ground floor keeps this point lighter. Confirm actual feasibility with the specified administrative authority, the designating authority and the fire station.

Q. Does changing an office into an after-school day-service always need a use-change confirmation application?
A. Where the floor area serving that use exceeds 200 m², a confirmation application is required under Article 87, paragraph 1 of the Building Standards Act. At 200 m² or less no application is needed, but compliance with evacuation, fire prevention and fire-service law is separately required. The floor-area judgement and the application go to an architect directly.

Sources (primary)

• e-Gov "建築基準法" (Building Standards Act) — Act No. 201 of 1950. Art. 48 and Table 2 (buildings permitted per use zone; a child welfare facility cannot be built in an exclusive industrial zone); Art. 87 (1) (use change to a special building over 200 m² brings the confirmation rules by reference); Art. 137-18 of the order (similar uses). Accessed 27 August 2026.
• MLIT, "The Building Standards Act amendment removed the use-change procedure for small buildings (in force 25 June 2019)" — the scale needing a use-change confirmation raised from over 100 m² to over 200 m²; compliance still required even where no application is needed. Accessed 27 August 2026.
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Ordinance No. 15 of 2012 under the Child Welfare Act (staffing, facilities and operation standards for after-school day-service and child development support; a training room, etc.; much of the concrete area is delegated to municipal by-laws). Accessed 27 August 2026.
• Fire Service Act enforcement order, Table 1 (items (6)-ro / (6)-ha, the fire-object classification of child welfare facilities; the difficulty of unaided evacuation changes whether sprinklers and automatic fire alarms are needed; the per-property classification is confirmed with the fire station of jurisdiction). Accessed 27 August 2026.

The feasibility of building in a use zone, whether a use-change confirmation is needed, whether fire equipment is needed, and seismic conformity all vary by property and by building plan. This article does not assess any individual property. Confirm finally at the counters: the specified administrative authority for use zone and use change, the municipality (designating authority) for area, staffing and partition, and the fire station of jurisdiction for fire equipment. Figures for the training-room area and staffing are largely set in municipal by-laws; the figures and classifications here are indicative. This article is general information; it does not judge or guarantee the feasibility of any particular property's designation. Property investigation, the view and brokerage are undertaken by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent). The designation application goes to an administrative scrivener, the use-change confirmation to an architect, fire equipment to a fire-equipment worker, and incorporation and registration to a judicial scrivener — independent business entities, engaged separately and directly. We neither pay nor accept referral fees.

About the author

Joji Uramatsu — licensed real estate transaction specialist (Tokyo Governor registration No. 293544) and administrative scrivener (registration No. 25087022). Representative Director, Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304); principal, Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office. Kohinata, Bunkyo, Tokyo, about five minutes' walk from Myogadani station. Property and paperwork are put on the same table. Full profile: author page.