Why Japan is tightening social insurance rules
Japan is moving to tie immigration decisions more closely to social insurance compliance. The health and welfare ministry and the Immigration Services Agency plan to check whether foreign residents are paying into the national pension and national health insurance when they apply to renew or change their status of residence. Officials aim to begin full screening with shared payment records by June 2027. The push comes after years of low payment rates among foreign residents and recurring cases of unpaid medical bills left behind when people leave the country.
Under Japanese law, foreign nationals who live in Japan for three months or more are required to enroll in public insurance. This includes the National Pension for people ages 20 to 59 and National Health Insurance for those not enrolled in employer health plans. Government data show gaps in compliance. For the fiscal year ending March 2025, foreign residents paid only 49.7 percent of pension contributions that were due. A survey of 150 local governments found that foreigners paid 63 percent of billed health insurance premiums as of late 2024, compared with about 93 percent among all residents.
Policymakers argue that stricter checks will support fairness for contributors and help local governments avoid covering deficits linked to unpaid premiums and medical bills. The initiative is part of a broader response to rising medical costs in an aging society and a growing population of foreign workers and students. It also reflects political pressure to address highly publicized cases of nonpayment without turning away the labor and skills Japan seeks to attract.
What will change by 2027
The government plans to use verified payment records when reviewing immigration applications. Foreign residents who ignore requests to pay arrears will, as a general rule, be denied when they try to renew their period of stay or change their status. Authorities say the policy will account for people who respond to payment notices, who are granted approved exemptions, or who enter into payment plans with their local office. The move shifts what had been limited checks for select visa categories into a standard element of screening for many statuses.
To support this process, the health ministry is preparing systems to share payment information with the Immigration Services Agency. Local governments will upgrade databases that often lack fields for nationality or residence status. Technical work is scheduled for 2026. The coordinated screening is targeted to begin in June 2027. Officials have signaled an expansion beyond certain work visas to cover students, family dependents, and other mid to long term residents.
How national health insurance and pension work
Japan’s public systems are universal in scope. Most salaried employees are enrolled by their employers in company social insurance, which includes health insurance and the Employees Pension. People who are self employed, on short hours or non regular contracts, job seekers, and many students enroll at their city or ward office in two programs, National Health Insurance and the National Pension. Foreign residents who meet the criteria are expected to join and pay like citizens, and they qualify for the same benefits.
Who must enroll and pay
The National Pension covers residents ages 20 to 59 with an address in Japan, regardless of nationality. People are classified by category, including those who enroll at their municipal office and those covered through an employer plan. Some visa types are excluded from voluntary coverage. National Health Insurance is administered by local governments and covers residents who are not in an employer health plan. Foreigners staying more than three months who are not covered elsewhere must enroll. People who gain a job with company insurance later should switch out of municipal health insurance to avoid double billing.
What contributions cost and what you get
The National Pension monthly premium for 2025 is 17,510 yen. Exemptions and partial exemptions exist for low income residents, and students can use a special payment system. Past exempted contributions can be paid retroactively for up to ten years. National Health Insurance premiums vary by municipality and household income. When enrolled, patients generally pay 30 percent at the point of service and the plan covers the rest, with caps for high cost cases. People who are not Japanese can claim a Lump sum Withdrawal Payment for pension contributions if they leave Japan permanently, which helps address concerns about paying into a plan they will not use in retirement. Details are available from the Japan Pension Service and municipal offices.
New upfront premiums for newcomers
The health ministry will give municipalities the option to ask newcomers from abroad to pay health insurance premiums in advance, such as a lump sum covering a year, as early as April 2026. The measure is aimed at reducing cases where people use medical services and then depart without paying premiums. Whether to adopt advance payment will be decided by each local government through its ordinances. Any system will need clear rules on refunds when a resident moves, since premiums and billing cycles differ by municipality.
Officials also intend to improve how payment histories are tracked and shared. Many city and ward offices do not consistently store nationality or residence status data for enrollees. Standardizing fields would allow a more accurate picture of compliance before immigration screening begins in 2027. As of 2023, about 970,000 foreign residents were enrolled in municipal health insurance, around 4 percent of all enrollees.
Visa consequences and enforcement
The cabinet has backed steps to deny entry to tourists who left unpaid medical bills on past visits. For residents, failure to pay National Health Insurance or pension premiums can lead to denial of status renewal or rejection of a change of status. Ministries will also check the social insurance payment status of workers on specified skills visas through the organizations that hire them, and companies with serious arrears could be blocked from accepting foreign workers.
The tougher stance is expected to extend screening to more residence statuses, including students and family members. Permanent residents already face heightened scrutiny. Under a revised law, willful nonpayment of taxes and social insurance can lead to loss of status in certain cases. Officials say the target is chronic, avoidable nonpayment, not people who are unemployed or engaged in a verified payment plan with their local office.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki framed the goal as part of a wider push on rule compliance during a recent briefing. According to the minister, public confidence in immigration management depends on predictable enforcement of basic obligations.
