The third oral argument hearing was held on Tuesday, November 18th at 11:00 a.m. in Courtroom 703 of the Tokyo District Court. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has continued to support us.

Summary of Defendant's Argument <br>At the previous hearing, the defendant argued, in summary:

• "The main purpose of a nursery school is to care for and educate children (child welfare)."

• "Childcare fees are the price to pay, and securing working hours for parents is merely a secondary benefit."

• "Therefore, childcare fees are not related to income earning and are not considered necessary expenses."

Based on this logic, they took the position that it was not a necessary expense ( Preparatory document ⑴ ).

Summary of Plaintiff's Arguments
At this hearing, we mainly refuted the claims of the above countries.
First, we analyzed recent court cases as well as existing court cases and academic theories to determine whether an expense constitutes a necessary expense ( Article 37, Paragraph 1 of the Income Tax Act), and then organized and presented the framework for determining whether an expense constitutes a necessary expense (First Preparatory Document [Regarding the framework for determining whether an expense constitutes a necessary expense and the applicability of childcare fees] ).

Based on this, the court pointed out the error in the defendant's argument, stating that the central role of childcare centers today is to "support parents in their employment" (Preparatory Brief No. 2 [Purpose of Childcare Center Use Today] ). The summary is as follows:

• In the past, nurseries were facilities for providing special education for children, but over the past 30 years, the nature of nurseries has changed dramatically. Now, nurseries are institutionally positioned as facilities to support working parents.

• Major institutional reforms that indicate this shift: 1. 1997 amendment to the Child Welfare Act: Daycare centers changed from being "relief-centered" to being "services" that parents could freely choose.
  ② 2012 Amendment to the Child Welfare Act: The eligibility criteria were changed from “lacking childcare” to “needing childcare,” making the system accessible to all parents who want to work.

• Other government policies: In 2016, Prime Minister Abe declared, "We are determined to achieve zero waiting lists for childcare," following his comment, "Japan, die! I couldn't get into daycare!" In 2020, under the state of emergency, he made a thorough request to local governments to provide childcare so that medical workers could continue working.

• Currently, 96% of daycare center use is due to work.
  →It is clear that today's daycare centers are employment support facilities.

At the hearing, attorney Enatsu gave a presentation on the "framework for determining necessary expenses," and attorney Toda gave a presentation on the "nature of daycare centers." ( Enatsu's statement and projected materials , Toda's statement and projected materials )

After the hearing, a brief explanation of the defendant's claims was given to those in attendance, making for a very productive session.

After the hearing, with the plaintiffs and their lawyers outside the Tokyo District Court

Next date

At the next hearing, the defendant is scheduled to refute the plaintiff's written rebuttal (the deadline for the defendant to submit written rebuttals is February 17th).

February 24, 2026 (Tuesday) 13:30~
Tokyo District Court, Courtroom 703

Please invite your friends and come to observe the hearing.
We appreciate your continued support.

The second oral argument hearing was held on Tuesday, September 2nd at 1:30 PM in Courtroom 703 of the Tokyo District Court. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has continued to support us.

Prior to this hearing, the defendant submitted a written rebuttal to the complaint, arguing that childcare is a form of welfare and that childcare fees are compensation for it, denying that the expenses are necessary expenses. You can see it in the preparatory documents (⑴ ).

After the hearing, a brief explanation of the defendant's claims was given to those in attendance, making for a very productive session.

▲After the hearing, with everyone who came to observe

At the next hearing, the plaintiffs will refute the defendants' written submissions and make an oral presentation on the contents of their rebuttals.

Next date
Tuesday, November 18th from 11am
Tokyo District Court, Courtroom 703

Please invite your friends and come to observe the hearing.
We appreciate your continued support.

The first oral argument for this case was held today (June 5, 2025) at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom 703 of the Tokyo District Court.

In court, the plaintiffs presented a summary of their complaint , and the defendants presented their answer .
Afterwards, the plaintiffs, Mr. Matsumura and Mr. Kuramochi, and their attorney, Mr. Toda, each made statements of opinion and presented their complaint.
Please see below for details of the speeches given on the day.
(※Link: Mr. Matsumura , Mr. Kuramochi , Attorney Toda )

The court instructed the defendant/government to submit a written rebuttal by the next hearing, which is set for July 31.

After the hearing, we held a hearing report session to provide an overview of the trial and future prospects. Many people attended both sessions and lively discussions were held.

The next hearing will be held on September 2nd at 1:30 pm in Courtroom 703 of the Tokyo District Court.
We hope you will attend and participate in our next meeting as well. Thank you for your continued support.

▲With the plaintiffs and their lawyers in front of the court

▲With everyone who participated in the deadline report meeting

CALL4 prepared a report on the lawsuit press conference held on February 25th, which was published today.

Please take a look.

Lawsuit press conference report "Lawsuit to turn childcare fees into expenses" - February 25, 2025 @ Judicial Press Club

Thank you for your support of the "Make Childcare Fees an Expense! Lawsuit" campaign.

We are pleased to announce that this week on Tuesday, February 25th, we have filed a lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court entitled "Turn Childcare Fees into an Expense!"

A press conference was held at the Judicial Press Club at 2:00 p.m. on the same day.

At the press conference, attorneysEnatsu and Toda explained the details of the lawsuit and its legal significance.

Attorney Toda emphasized that this lawsuit has "legal significance" in that it raises new questions about what constitutes as necessary expenses and what constitutes as household expenses.

He also pointed out that the definition currently adopted by the tax office, which states that necessary expenses are only those directly related to business operations, is an overly narrow interpretation of necessary expenses.

In the first place, the High Court has ruled that even if an expenditure is not directly related to the business, it can be recognized as a necessary direct expense if there is a connection.

Despite this, the tax office still requires for a direct connection between business and expenses for it to be deemed as necessary expenses and therefore, still treats childcare fees as merely a household expense.

The attorneys also noted that another reason for the tax office not changing their decision in viewing the treatment of childcare fees as household expenses, or personal consumer expenditure,    is due to the still ingrained misogynistic belief that men earn money outside the home and women take on the housework and childcare duties unpaid.

Yet, currently in Japan, 70% of households have dual incomes.

The tax office's view of childcare fees as household expenses rather than necessary expenses should be corrected in order to maintain a balance between diverse working styles and childcare.

Therefore, it is important to clarify that childcare fees are necessary expenses and not household expenses.

One of the plaintiffs, Mr. Kuramochi, also attended the press conference. He mentioned, "Raising children is hard, but fun. That's why I wanted to be an opportunity for other people to take on the challenge."

Through the judicial system, we aim to settle the interpretation of "necessary expenses" and "household expenses" so that childcare fees can be deducted as expenses.

We appreciate your continued support.