If you work for a company in Japan, you will need to buy a health insurance sold by the Japan Health Insurance association and even if you don’t work for a company, if your period of stay in Japan is over 3 months, you are obliged to buy a National Health Insurance.
Basically, National Health Insurance is made for Japanese residents but buying a national health insurance also requires foreigners to buy depending on the situation. I will explain what a health insurance provided by the Japanese government is like.
Contents
- 1 A National Health Insurance and a health insurance prepared by a company
- 2 Type of foreignes who must buy a national heal insurance
- 3 Whether or not you are liable to a penalty if you don’t buy a National Health Insurance
- 4 You are claimed to make a insurance payments that date back from the day you did resident registration at a municipal office
- 5 A person who is not subject to buying a National Health Insurance
- 6 Documents which you need to prepare to apply for a National Health Insurance
A National Health Insurance and a health insurance prepared by a company
If you work for a company in Japan, a company will force you to buy a health insurance provided by the Japan Health Insurance Association. Even if a company you work for is capitalized by 100% foreign funds, health insurance, employment insurance, welfare pension insurance and workmen’s accident compensation insurance are compulsory insurance you must buy. In most of the case, these dues are collected by checkoff.
In 2012, foreginers living in Japan were subject to basic resident register system. Herewith, those who stay in Japan over 3 months are obliged to buy a National Health Insurace if you don’t work for a company (but come Japan for working holiday).
The Japanese government regulates a health insurance as compulsory insurance and notifies companies in Japan to buy a health insurance for all the employees. Part time workers are also no exception under this policy.
As basic point view, if you work for a company, you naturally buy a health insurance prepared by a company, if you don’t work for a company, you must apply for a National Health Insurance by yourself.
Type of foreignes who must buy a national heal insurance
Mid-to-Long stayers (who are issued with resident card)
You are a foreigner coming to Japan with an official visa status who is granted a permission to stay in Japan for more than 3 months.
Special permanent stayer
A permanent resident regulated by the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act who are issued with a certificate of special permanent stayer.
A person who is granted landing permission for temporary refuge or granted permission for provisional stay:
By the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, a person who is granted landing permission for temporary refuge when satisfying necessary conditions such a case that there is possibility that foreigners boarding on watercraft may be refugees or a person who is granted permission for provisional stay when satisfying certain conditions such a case that an illegal stayer applies for refugee recognition procedure.
Elapsed residents
A person who is granted permission to stay in Japan without visa status for 60 days from the day of birth or denationalization of Japanese citizenship
Whether or not you are liable to a penalty if you don’t buy a National Health Insurance
If your period of stay in Japan is over 3 months without working for a company, you are obliged to apply for a National Health Insurace but even if you don’t buy a health insurance you are not liable to a penalty.
A National Health Insurance is the one provided by municipalities of each region. They don’t recognize what kind of insurance all the residents have bought. This is compulsory insurance but there is no legal penalty that you receive even if you don’t buy.
If you come across a case that you have an accident that your voluntary insurance doesn’t cover, cost of treatment at a hospital may be much more expensive than you expect. In terms of health insurance in Japan, you should rely on the Japanese health insurance, otherwise you will end up paying health insurance dually.
You are claimed to make a insurance payments that date back from the day you did resident registration at a municipal office
There are some medical institutions that turn down hospitalization of people who don’t possess a National Health Insurance. For this case, you can buy a National Health Insurance but you’re claimed to make payments that date back from the day you did resident registration in Japan by a municipality. Which means you get paid a health insurance premium which you haven’t paid since you came to Japan.
This is very painful payment if you don’t pay a health insurance premium continuously. However, this condition is not only adopted to foreigners but also Japanese.
A person who is not subject to buying a National Health Insurance
For example, if your visa is expired and the period of stay that granted by your visa status is recognized as a category of “short stay” which is less than 3 months like you visit Japan as diplomat or official or you visit with the reason of medical treatment, you cannot buy a National Health Insurance.
However, even if you are a short stayer staying in Japan for less than 3 months without a certificate of residence if your visa status corresponds to Technical Intern Training, dependent or entertainer and you have a certificate that prove you stay in Japan for over 3 months, you can apply for a National Health Insurance.
If you come from the country which concludes social security agreement with Japan and you have a certificate of its social security, you can’t buy a National Health Insurance.
Social security agreement is the one that aggrigates all the period of validity of both pensions and other insurance systems by adjusting those mutually between Japan and a concerned country to prevent contractees from dual contract and problem of pension eligibility (which offers no refund payment),
| Countries | Agreement issuance year and date | Prevention from dual contract of social security system | |
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| Japan | Partner countreies | ||
| Germany | February,2000 |
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| England | February, 2001 |
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| Korea | October, 2005 |
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| America | October, 2005 |
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| Belgium | January, 2007 |
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| France | June, 2007 |
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| Canada | March, 2008 |
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| Australia | January, 2009 |
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| Netherlands | March, 2009 |
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| Czech | June, 2009 |
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| Spain | December, 2010 |
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| Ireland | December, 2010 |
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| Brazil | Marh, 2012 |
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| Switzerland | March, 2012 |
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| Hungary | January, 2014 |
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| India | October, 2016 |
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| Luxembourg | August, 2017 |
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| Italy | In preparation for issuance |
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| Philippines | In preparation for issuance |
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| Slovakia | In preparation for issuance |
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Documents which you need to prepare to apply for a National Health Insurance
If you apply for a National Health Insurance, you need to apply in a National Health Insurance section in a municipal office within 14 days from the day you move in a region and receive a certificate of resident.
If you delay the procedure of National Health Insurance, you are claimed to make payments that date back from the day you move in.
To buy a National Health Insurance, you need to bring Resident card or speicial permanent resident certificate and any one from among the following certificates if you retired from the previous company
- Social insurance disqualification certificate
- Seperation slip
- Leaving certificate
- Tax certificate slip
If you already have a National Health Insurance and give a birth to a baby, you need to bring a resident card or special permanent resident certificate and your National Health Insurance card to a municipal office.