Labour when opening a nursery — nursery-teacher staffing ratios, treatment-improvement add-ons, and how to build shifts

In short: Labour for opening a nursery starts from a staffing plan that meets the nursery-teacher ratios. The ratios are set in Article 33(2) of the standards for the facilities and operation of child-welfare institutions (Ordinance No. 63 of 1948): roughly 1 nursery teacher per 3 infants, 1 per 6 for ages 1 to under 3, 1 per 15 for ages 3 to under 4, and 1 per 25 for age 4 and over (at least 2 per nursery). On top of this sit variable-hours shifts that cover early, late and extended care, a wage regime matching the treatment-improvement add-ons, and the social-insurance test for part-time nursery teachers. This article sets out how the ratios feed the staffing plan, how to build shifts, the wage regime, the social-insurance test, and who handles the setup application and the premises — from a shakai hoken roumushi's labour-management viewpoint.

When you open a nursery (licensed, small-scale licensed, or an employer-led one), the securing of qualified staff, shifts, wages and social-insurance procedures all start at once. This page is for operators about to open a nursery, and for managers who want to tidy up labour at an existing one. The final decision on whether a given nursery meets the ratios or the add-on requirements is made by the licensing/confirming authority (prefecture or municipality) and against the Children and Families Agency's guidelines, so check with them.

How do the nursery-teacher ratios feed the staffing plan?

The ratios are not simply "how many to hire"; they are a rostering question of how many you can keep placed in each time band. They turn on the number of children by age.

Category	Nursery teachers (roughly)
Infants (under 1)	1 per 3
Age 1 to under 3	1 per 6
Age 3 to under 4	1 per 15 (was 1 per 20 before the reform)
Age 4 and over	1 per 25 (was 1 per 30 before the reform)

In addition, a nursery may not go below 2 nursery teachers (proviso to Article 33(2)). The figures for age 3-to-under-4 (1 per 15) and age 4-and-over (1 per 25) were revised in April 2024 (Reiwa 6). However, a transitional measure allows operation under the former ratios (1 per 20 and 1 per 30) for the time being. The deadline and handling of the transitional measure may change, so confirm with your authority and the Children and Families Agency (referenced September 2026).

From the labour side, the ratios must be met throughout every hour the nursery is open. The longer the opening hours, the more total head-count is needed, and you run it with part-timers alongside full-timers. How you count them as full-time equivalents follows the same logic as How to count full-time equivalents.

How do you build early/late/extended-care shifts with variable working hours?

A nursery is often open around 11 hours a day, and extended care makes it longer. Since no one works straight through, you combine early, middle and late shifts. The tool for this is the variable-hours system.

System	Basis	Main feature
Monthly variable-hours system	Labor Standards Act Art. 32-2	Average to within 40 hours a week over up to a month; set by work rules or labour-management agreement
Yearly variable-hours system	Labor Standards Act Art. 32-4	Average to within 40 hours a week over up to a year; needs a labour-management agreement and filing; caps such as 10 hours a day / 52 hours a week

If you want daily scheduled hours to be longer on some days and shorter on others, set the variable-hours system in the work rules and labour-management agreement. Without it, hours over 8 a day are overtime requiring premium pay. On choosing a system, see Choosing between a variable-hours system and flextime; on the annual-leave 5-day duty, see When you cannot use up the 5 days of annual leave.

How do you build a wage regime matching the treatment-improvement add-ons?

Nursery wages are inseparable from the Children and Families Agency's treatment-improvement add-ons. To receive them, the wage regime and work rules must be in place and the wage improvement must actually be carried out.

Add-on	Aim	What to arrange in labour
Treatment-improvement add-on I	Wage improvement across staff (career-path requirement)	State working conditions and a wage structure by rank, responsibility and duties in the work rules, and make them known
Treatment-improvement add-on II	Improvement by skill and experience	Appoint deputy chief nursery teachers / duty-area leaders and set corresponding allowances in the wage regime
Treatment-improvement add-on III	Raising income (wage improvement)	Reliably improve the wages of eligible staff and keep records for reporting

An add-on is not "receive and done": the amount received is distributed to staff as personnel cost and checked in a results report. If the wage regime conflicts with the requirements, the report stumbles. Names and requirements are revised repeatedly, so confirm against the latest implementation guidelines (referenced September 2026). The design thinking resembles Building a wage regime for the care-worker treatment-improvement add-on (a different sector). How many add-on tiers you can obtain is decided finally by the authority and the Children and Families Agency.

How do you judge social insurance for part-time and short-hours nursery teachers?

Nurseries have many part-time nursery teachers, so the line for social insurance (health insurance and employees' pension) is a core issue. There are two yardsticks.

Yardstick	Content
Three-quarters test	Applies if weekly scheduled hours and monthly scheduled days are three-quarters or more of an ordinary worker's at the same office
Coverage expansion for short-hours workers	At a specified applicable office (101 or more, and from October 2024, 51 or more regular employees), part-timers meeting 20+ weekly hours, monthly wage of ¥88,000+, and not being a student are also covered

First check the three-quarters test; even if it does not fit, depending on the office's size and the worker's conditions, they may fall under coverage expansion. See Social insurance when you hire for short hours. A nursery using 10 or more people must also draw up and file work rules (What you need for work rules at 10 employees).

Who handles the setup, the confirmation and the premises?

Beyond labour, opening a nursery involves setup/confirmation procedures and premises requirements. The party in charge differs by task.

What to do	Whose work
Managing hours and shifts; arranging employment contracts, work rules and the wage regime; social- and labour-insurance procedures; payroll	A Shakai Hoken Roumushi (Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant) (this office)
Setup procedures for licensed/unlicensed nurseries and employer-led applications, drafting papers filed with the administration	A Gyoseishoshi (Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist)
Checking the premises' zoning and floor area; lease/sale	A licensed real-estate broker
Building confirmation and change of use	An architect
Labour disputes and disputes over dismissal	An attorney
Accounting and tax filing	A tax accountant

This office is limited to labour management. We can connect you to 四葉行政書士事務所 for setup and employer-led applications, and to 四葉不動産 for zoning and floor-area checks, on the premise that shakai hoken roumushi work, gyoseishoshi work and the real-estate brokerage are each carried out by an independent business entity and are contracted separately. We do not take on everything under one contract. Whether a given nursery meets the ratios or add-on requirements is decided finally by the authority (prefecture or municipality) and against the Children and Families Agency's guidelines.

What can 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 do for you?

四葉社会保険労務士事務所 in Kohinata, Bunkyo Ward, handles, for opening and running a nursery, a staffing plan that meets the nursery-teacher ratios, work rules and shifts geared to the variable-hours system and extended care, a wage regime matching the treatment-improvement add-ons, social- and labour-insurance coverage procedures, and payroll. We also help judge social insurance for part-time nursery teachers and build records that stand up in results reporting. The initial consultation is free. For how fees are thought about, see the fee schedule; the questions we are asked most often are on the FAQ page.

We guide you to 四葉行政書士事務所 (an independent business entity, contracted separately) for setup and employer-led applications, to 四葉不動産 (an independent business entity, contracted separately) for zoning and floor-area checks, and to an attorney for labour disputes. This office does not accept referral fees.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How did the nursery-teacher ratios change in the 2024 reform?
A. Age 3-to-under-4 went from 1 per 20 to 1 per 15, and age 4-and-over from 1 per 30 to 1 per 25 (Article 33(2) of the standards for child-welfare institutions). However, a transitional measure allows operation under the former ratios for the time being. The deadline and handling may change, so confirm with your authority and the Children and Families Agency (referenced September 2026).

Q. Do I always need a variable-hours system to build early/late shifts?
A. If you build shifts within 8 hours a day / 40 a week, you can do so without one. But if you want daily scheduled hours longer on some days and shorter on others to cover opening hours, set a monthly (Art. 32-2) or yearly (Art. 32-4) variable-hours system in the work rules and labour-management agreement. Without it, hours over 8 a day become overtime.

Q. How do I set up the wage regime to receive the treatment-improvement add-ons?
A. Add-on I requires stating working conditions and a wage structure by rank, responsibility and duties in the work rules as a career-path requirement; add-on II requires appointing deputy chief nursery teachers, etc., with corresponding allowances; add-on III requires reliably improving eligible staff's wages. Distribute the amount received as personnel cost and keep records for reporting. Requirements are revised repeatedly, so confirm against the latest implementation guidelines (referenced September 2026).

Q. Must short-hours part-time nursery teachers join social insurance?
A. First, if they meet the three-quarters test (weekly hours and monthly days at three-quarters or more of an ordinary worker's), they are covered. Even if not, at a specified applicable office (51 or more regular employees from October 2024), they may fall under coverage expansion with 20+ weekly hours, a monthly wage of ¥88,000+, and not being a student. It turns on the office's size and the worker's conditions.

Sources for this article

• Standards for the facilities and operation of child-welfare institutions (Ordinance No. 63 of 1948), Article 33(2) (nursery-teacher ratios = roughly 1 per 3 infants, 1 per 6 for ages 1–under-3, 1 per 15 for ages 3–under-4, 1 per 25 for age 4 and over, at least 2 per nursery) / confirmed against the e-Gov law text (referenced September 2026)
• The revision of the ratios for ages 3–under-4 (20→15) and age 4 and over (30→25) in April 2024, and the transitional measure allowing the former ratios for the time being, confirmed against the Children and Families Agency's notices and guidance on nursery operation (referenced September 2026); the deadline and handling may be revised
• Labor Standards Act (Act No. 49 of 1947), Article 32-2 (monthly variable-hours) and Article 32-4 (yearly variable-hours) / confirmed against the e-Gov law text (referenced September 2026)
• The tiers, requirements and wage-improvement thinking of treatment-improvement add-ons I/II/III, confirmed against the Children and Families Agency's implementation guidelines and guidance (referenced September 2026); names, requirements and distribution rules may be revised
• Social-insurance coverage of short-hours workers (three-quarters test; specified applicable office = 51 or more from October 2024; 20+ weekly hours, monthly wage of ¥88,000+, not a student, etc.), confirmed against the Health Insurance Act, the Employees' Pension Insurance Act and Japan Pension Service guidance (referenced September 2026)

This article does not go so far as to decide whom you should consult. Managing hours and shifts, arranging employment contracts, work rules and the wage regime, social- and labour-insurance procedures, and payroll are the work of a shakai hoken roumushi. Setup for licensed/unlicensed nurseries and employer-led applications are the work of a gyoseishoshi; zoning and floor-area checks are the work of a licensed real-estate broker; building confirmation and change of use are the work of an architect; labour disputes are the work of an attorney; accounting and tax filing are the work of a tax accountant. Shakai hoken roumushi work, gyoseishoshi work and the real-estate brokerage are each carried out by an independent business entity and contracted separately. This office does not accept referral fees. Whether a given nursery meets the ratios or add-on requirements is decided finally by the licensing/confirming authority (prefecture or municipality) and against the Children and Families Agency's guidelines. The cost of consulting 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 is on the fee schedule, and the questions we are asked most often are on the FAQ page.

This article is general information. Judgments that fit your particular circumstances are made by a qualified professional after a meeting. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi (Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant), Gyoseishoshi (Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist), Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).