Lead
There are multiple ways to prepare for a child's education costs in Japan: school fee assistance, child allowance, gakushi hoken (educational savings insurance), parent-held NISA accounts. Each has a different purpose and a different stage of relevance. Sorting them by "what kind of preparation for which stage" makes the choices clearer.
Before getting swept up in the emotional framing of "investing in your child," there is value in checking the structure and figures of the available programs once. The following is written against the backdrop of Japan's current system.