Wage Increase Environment Development Subsidy 2026

This Hokkaido subsidy program supports management improvement expenses for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to achieve sustainable wage increases in response to high energy prices and economic challenges. Eligible applicants are SMEs with their principal business location in Hokkaido and registered on the Partnership Construction Declaration portal. The Standard Track offers a maximum subsidy of 2 million yen at a 1/2 subsidy rate requiring employee average wage increases by project completion; the Promotion Track provides 3 million yen at 3/4 subsidy rate requiring 4.0% or higher wage increases. Eligible expenses include machinery and systems, cloud services, promotional costs, exhibition participation, R&D, training, and other management improvement expenses. Achieving the required wage increase by project completion is mandatory, and applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until the budget is exhausted; early application is strongly recommended. The application period runs from May 15 to September 30, 2026, accepting both electronic and postal submissions.