What is 'Furusato Nozei' that feels true to you? How to choose your Furusato Nozei as point rewards come to an end
[Summary of this article]
With the end of point rewards for Furusato Nozei starting in October 2025, we have an opportunity to rethink 'why we donate.' From now on, it is important to look not only at the return gifts, but also at how the donations are used and the stance of the local government. Kashima City is transparently disclosing how donations are used and is working to address regional issues. Why not try a more heartfelt approach to Furusato Nozei, perhaps by choosing where to donate while discussing it with your children?
Furusato Nozei: Supporting regions you care about through your own choice
Started in 2008, 'Furusato Nozei' began as a system that allows donors to choose how their tax payments are used through the form of a donation.
The system is reviewed every year, and while it has changed shape little by little, it continues to fulfill its role as a system that allows you to support your hometown or a region you truly want to cheer for, based on your own will.
And now, October 2025.
To clarify the purpose of this system, a major change is about to take place.
Point rewards on Furusato Nozei portal sites will end
Until now, portal sites like Rakuten Furusato Nozei and Furunavi have held campaigns where points were awarded based on the donation amount.
However, from October 2025, these 'point rewards' will be prohibited.
For example, if you used a Furusato Nozei portal site with a '5%' point return rate to make a 50,000 yen donation, you would receive 2,500 yen worth of points (50,000 yen x 5%).
Furusato Nozei is a system where you 'receive return gifts for a 2,000 yen out-of-pocket expense,' but thanks to this point return, it was possible to make donations where the points received exceeded the 2,000 yen out-of-pocket cost.
However, from October 2025, all such site-specific point rewards will be prohibited.
The background to this is the idea of 'curbing excessive competition and returning to the original purpose of the Furusato Nozei system.'
From the donor's perspective, some may feel that 'not getting points is a bit of a loss...'
But that is exactly why, right now.
This system revision is also a chance to rethink 'where' and 'why' you donate.
'Donating just because' might lead to regrets later
September is expected to see a surge in donations as it is the last month before point rewards end.
But have you ever had an experience like this with 'last-minute December donations'?
I was disappointed when the return gift was different from what I expected
I chose how to use the donation randomly and regretted it a little later
I ended up donating to a municipality I didn't know well for no particular reason
To avoid that, why not choose a municipality that values both the desire to 'receive a return gift' and the desire to 'have your donation be useful to someone'?
The ability to 'see how your donation is used' is actually important
'I don't know what my taxes are being used for'
'I feel like my money is being used in ways I can't agree with'
Many of you have likely felt such dissatisfaction, anxiety, or doubt.
Furusato Nozei is a unique system that allows you to choose how your tax money is used based on your own will.
If you have dissatisfaction or anxiety about how taxes are used, choosing a municipality that clearly states 'what it will be used for' and reports on the subsequent results and achievements will greatly change your sense of satisfaction with your donation.
For example, Kashima City reports the use of donations in detail in 1,000-yen increments and publishes the status every quarter.
Furthermore, Kashima City is engaging in Furusato Nozei with a clear sense of purpose to maintain and expand citizen services in the face of imminent major changes.
We are confident that we are 'different' from municipalities that collect more Furusato Nozei than they can use and simply put it into savings.
Thinking about the future of Furusato Nozei as a family
For future Furusato Nozei, please pay attention not only to the return gifts but also to 'how they will be used'.
For example, try discussing with your family, 'Where should we donate this year?'
Having such time can become an opportunity to think about society and the community, and it serves as valuable learning for children to develop a perspective on money and their region.
Why not experience 'choosing with your own will' through the act of donating?
Focus on 'why you donate' rather than 'where you donate'
The 2025 system review is a major step toward returning Furusato Nozei to its 'original form'.
'Because I can get a lot of points'
'Because there are good return gifts'
I do not deny choosing for those reasons, but beyond that,
'Why do you want to entrust your will to that municipality?'
Please be conscious of a way of donating that aligns with that sentiment from now on.
Kashima City has
With return gifts unique to Kashima and uses for donations that are exclusive to Kashima, if you want an emotional Furusato Nozei experience, choose Kashima
is the slogan we have adopted.
We value both the return gifts and the use of the donations.
However, if we had to choose, we would like you to choose based on 'use-first'.
And, by choosing Kashima City for your Furusato Nozei,
we hope you will feel a sense of warmth knowing that you are helping someone or something.
How Kashima City uses donations
Kashima City utilizes donations for '12' different purposes, tailored to the social issues that each individual donor cares about.
Supporting child-rearing as a whole community
We aim to improve the child-rearing environment and strengthen support systems so that those who wish to give birth and raise children can maintain the careers, experience, and knowledge they have cultivated and realize their desired life plans.
We aim to foster momentum and create mechanisms for the entire community—including families, workplaces, and local areas—to support child-rearing.
Nurturing the 'Kashima Kids' who will carry the future
In school education, we aim to enhance education that is useful for the skills needed in the future international society and for choosing one's way of life, and to increase opportunities for children to think for themselves and envision their future dreams and goals.
Through cooperation with families and the community, we will work together to nurture the children and young people who will carry the future of Kashima City.Creating and nurturing rich Kashima culture together
We aim to increase opportunities for both children and adults to experience the history and characteristics of Kashima City, such as Kashima Jingu Shrine, Kashima Development, and Kashima Antlers, and to pass on its charm to the future with a love for our hometown.
By enhancing venues where people can become interested in Kashima City and opportunities for people to empathize with and support us, we aim to lead to the creation of a new Kashima culture.Supporting diverse lifestyles
We aim to create mechanisms for realizing a diverse society so that people in various situations living in Kashima City, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and foreign residents, can make the most of their diverse personalities and play an active role, becoming a new charm of Kashima City.
We are working on community development through co-creation so that the people living in Kashima City can interact with various people inside and outside the community, and the lifestyles and ways of working born there can become a new vitality for Kashima City.Enjoying sports and maintaining health
Leveraging our efforts in various sports activities, including soccer, martial arts, and beach sports utilizing our coastline, we will enhance opportunities for citizens to engage in sports and exercise in their daily lives.
By expanding exchange activities and economic activities through these, we aim to create an environment where everyone from children to adults can work on maintaining and improving their health while having fun.Living a healthy life in both mind and body through prevention and appropriate medical care
We aim to secure a healthcare system that allows all generations to live sustainably in Kashima City into the future by preventing the worsening of conditions through the enhancement of regional medical care and health prevention systems.
We aim for a society where people can live richly while helping each other in the community even as they get older, and we also aim to create a society that reduces the burden on the shrinking younger generation and holds hope for the future.Supporting the challenges of existing industries
Regarding agriculture and fisheries operated by utilizing the local environment, we will actively support new challenges that transcend industrial boundaries, such as the sixth-sector industrialization and smartization in cooperation with commerce and industry for the future.
We will actively support challenges that lead to the revitalization of the regional economy through new tourism styles that utilize the various regional resources Kashima City possesses, such as its geographical advantage close to the Tokyo metropolitan area and Narita Airport, national brands like Kashima Jingu Shrine and Kashima Antlers, marine sports utilizing the sea, and outdoor activities in the greenery.Creating industries that connect to the future
We are working on creating new industrial fields that generate a virtuous cycle of regional economy and environment for the future by utilizing initiatives toward decarbonization of industrial stocks in the Kashima Coastal Industrial Zone and base ports (base ports) for marine renewable energy power generation facilities, etc.
In addition, by linking sports resources represented by Kashima Antlers with resources in other fields, we aim to make the new soccer stadium, etc., the core of new regional resources.Connecting the rich sea and greenery of Kashima to the future
We aim to create a sustainable society by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, recycling resources, and conserving the natural environment, which are necessary to pass on Kashima's rich environment and the global environment to the future.Building a compact and safe city
In order to efficiently utilize the city area, which is long from north to south, we will consolidate the functions of living bases and industrial bases in each district, promote the creation of networks such as effective traffic axes connecting them, and aim for land use and infrastructure development where charm and convenience are optimized as a whole.
We will work on land use and urban infrastructure development that considers the risks of large-scale natural disasters, as well as the enhancement of crisis management systems to complement them, and promote city development where people can continue to live safely in the future.Building a smart and sustainable city
We will actively promote the use of ICT and DX in administration, aim for efficiency in administrative and financial management and improvement of services, and aim for optimal administrative operation.
Based on the impact on the scale of finance due to future population decline and the shrinkage of key industries, we aim for city development that can respond systematically, such as consolidation and life extension of public facilities and appropriate asset management.No designation
If you do not specify a desired project menu, we will utilize your donation in an effective way to solve the city's issues.
Kashima City will be particular about how Furusato Nozei donations are used to bring smiles to those who are currently facing difficulties and the children who will carry the future, using the warm goodwill sent by everyone.
This is a turning point where the Furusato Nozei system will change significantly.
For your next Furusato Nozei,
why not pay attention to how your donation will be used when choosing where to donate?