Job Discussion Forums

Venti · Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 171 Location: Kanto, Japan

Several folks, including myself, have offered information here regarding public health insurance requirements in Japan.

Here's some basic information along with a couple of links:

Many foreigners who come to work in Japan for companies like NOVA and Interac have been provided health insurance through private companies. INTERGLOBAL LIMITED is one such company. By law, a foreigner who has a status of residence in Japan for a year or more has to be enrolled in some kind of public health insurance. However, most foreigners who come on a one-year work visa and then go home at the end of their one-year contract, don't actually have a status of residence for one year. The status of residence doesn't begin for a foreigner when landing at immigration. It begins after the foreigner is issued his/her Certificate of Alien Registration (often referred to as a gaijin card), which usually happens two to three weeks after arriving in Japan if the application is done in a timely manner. Since the work visa time limit starts ticking away upon arrival in Japan, the foreigner only has a status of residence, at the time of reciept of the gaijin card, of one year minus two or three weeks. Thus, the foreigner can "get away" with not enrolling in a public health insurance scheme during his/her first contract year. Here's a quote from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's web page:

"As a rule, foreigners who have completed foreign resident registration and have a status of residence of at least one year must join the National Health Insurance scheme."

Here's a link to that page: www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/RESIDENT/LIVINGIN/cont5-01.htm

If an employee (foreigner or not) is a full-time employee, he/she must be enrolled in Employee Health Insurance, which falls under the Social Insurance scheme (Shakai Hoken). This requirement has nothing to do with the amount of time spent in Japan. Many eikaiwa companies have, reportedly, avoided being obliged to enroll their foreign teachers in Employee Health Insurance by manipulating the amount of teaching hours to qualify the teacher as part-time.

Here's a link to the Japan Social Insurance web page:
www.sia.go.jp/e/ehi.html

Foreign teachers who get this part-time label are required by law to enroll in National Health Insurance (Kokumin Kenko Hoken) once it is clear that they have had, or will have, a status of residence in Japan for one year or more. As I stated above, it's not clear during the first contract year whether or not a foreign teacher will have a status of residence for at least a year since they don't receive the status right away when landing at immigration in Japan.

There it is:
If you maintain a status of residence in Japan for one year or more, you must enroll in Kokumin Kenko Hoken (National Health Insurance) if you aren't already enrolled in some other public health insurance scheme like Shakai Hoken (Employee Health Insurance through the Social Insurance Agency).

Having said this, I still advise anyone who is part-time, and is planning on using the company-provided private health insurance plan, to go to his/her local ward/town/city office and find out about enrolling in Kokumin Kenko Hoken. Since premiums are calculated based on taxes that were paid during the previous year, first-year residents might find these premiums to be less than what they pay for the private insurance since they paid zero tax dollars the previous year.

Hope this information helps.

Venti · Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 171 Location: Kanto, Japan

Just so this doesn't drop off of page one right before someone posts something like "Does anyone know anything about health insurance in Japan?"

ripslyme · Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 481 Location: Japan

Here's my experience: when I first joined Kokumin Kenko Hoken, my payments totaled 20,000 yen for that entire 1st year. When the second year started up, my payments went up to 15,000 yen a month. However, by this time I had already been enrolled in an equivalent to Shakai Hoken by my current employer. So I went down to the city hall and showed them my papers, and they discontinued Kokumin Kenko Hoken - no questions asked.

Venti · Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 171 Location: Kanto, Japan

Hello, Rip

Just for everyone's information, could you please be specific about your company's equivalent to Shakai Hoken? Thanks.

Venti · Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 171 Location: Kanto, Japan

ripslyme · Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 481 Location: Japan

osakajojo · Joined: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 229

So what would be the pros and cons of having Kokumin Kenko Hoken (National Health Insurance) OR Shakai Hoken (Employee Health Insurance through the Social Insurance Agency).
Is either one preferable?

Venti · Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 171 Location: Kanto, Japan

I've received several PM's regarding this issue and would like to advise anyone concerned about it to contact their local village, town, ward, or city office directly for questions about Kokumin Kenkou Hoken. If a lack of Japanese ability is a problem, bring someone along who can help you.

As far as Shakai Hoken is concerned, it's a separate government agency and you should contact that office directly for any information you might want.

Jon Taylor · Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Posts: 238 Location: Tokyo

I paid 45,000 in my 1st year and 165,000 in my 2nd year.

I have seen an advertisment for viva vida insurance; www.vivavida.net/ingles/

They offer 'Health Insurance for foreigners living in Japan' for 49.800 Yen per year (no extra costs).
This policy covers 100% of all medical costs including prescription fees, diagnosis charges, outpatient care, hospitalization and surgery.

Do any of you know anything more about this policy as it really does sound very good indeed ?

They advertise regularly on the front page of English newspapers.