Japan arrival guide (resident card, social security, My Number, pension…)

Once you’ve obtained your resident card at the airport, you have 14 days to go to the city hall to register your address. The agents there will register you for social security (which is tied to your municipality of residence).

Don’t try to avoid social security payments by delaying this procedure, as some past working holiday makers have tried. Invoices can still be billed to you retroactively for past months and you will be expected to pay.

Japanese social security (kokumin kenko hoken)

In Japan, you are either

• registered with your company’s social security (rare for WHV holders)
• or your city’s social security (applicable to job seekers, students, part-timers etc.)

Virtually all WHV holders fall into the second category, so they must register at their city hall. Registration for social security is an obligation (source). Some working holiday makers don’t know about this or forget to do so. Worse yet, some city hall employees might not be familiar with the WHV status and therefore tell you that it is optional. It is not optional. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are properly registered, because in case of investigation, it will come back to you and you alone.

Japanese social security will cover 70% of your medical expenses, the rest is out of pocket. It does not cover medical repatriation to your home country, or tourism to other countries.

To calculate your social security contributions, Japanese authorities will use your earnings from the previous year. But since you likely did not work in Japan, you should simply declare that you did not work. Accordingly, you will just make contributions based on the minimum threshold set by your local social security department. Amounts differ from city to city, but in general it is around 2,000 yen per month. In the Shibuya district of Tokyo, for example, the minimum monthly amount is ~1,400 yen.

If you receive a bill for an exorbitantly high figure and believe it to be an error, don’t panic. Take the invoice to your city hall and explain that you did not have any earnings in Japan last year. If necessary, they will mail you a corrected invoice.

To pay the contribution amounts, you can either pay monthly or pay the whole year at once. The first option is preferable for nomadic working holiday makers. You could opt for auto-pay if you have a Japanese bank account, or go to a konbini (convenience store) every month to pay the bill.

If you change addresses, make sure to inform the city hall so that they forward your social security files to your new address.