Reiwa 8 Ninohe City Wage Increase Support Subsidy

(1) Overview: The Reiwa 8 Ninohe City Wage Increase Support Subsidy is operated by Ninohe City (Iwate Prefecture) to help local businesses raise wages sustainably and secure the human resources they need. The Commerce, Tourism and Distribution Division administers the program, which was publicly announced on April 9, 2026. Subsidies are paid to businesses that implement wage increases for their employees, supporting regional industry and improving the local employment environment. (2) Eligible applicants: Businesses must fall into one of four categories — SMEs defined by Article 2(1) of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act that are corporations under the Corporation Tax Act (public-interest, cooperative, or ordinary corporations); manufacturers; individual proprietors within the SME definition; or groups whose main members are SMEs or sole proprietors. Industry-specific capital and employee thresholds apply (e.g. manufacturing/construction/transport: capital ≤300 million yen or ≤300 employees; wholesale: ≤100 million yen or ≤100 employees; services/retail have lower thresholds). (3) Eligible expenses & content: The eligible wage increase must be implemented between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026 for employees who work at a Ninohe-city workplace with weekly scheduled working hours of 20 hours or more. Wages must be raised by at least 80 yen per hour compared with the month before the increase, the increased wage must have been paid for at least one month, and the new wage level must be maintained for one year. (4) Rate, cap, schedule & application tips: The subsidy pays 40,000 yen per employee, up to 50 employees per business — a maximum of 2,000,000 yen per business. The application deadline is December 28, 2026, but applications close earlier if the city budget is exhausted. Required documents include Form No.1 (application & invoice), Form No.2 (pledge), Form No.3 (list of eligible employees), copies of labor-condition notices or employment contracts, payroll ledger copies for the revision month and the preceding month, and bank-account information.