1) National Health Insurance
1. What is National Health Insurance?
Treatment at medical institutions in Japan can be very expensive and can lead to a large financial burden if you do not have insurance. National Health Insurance is a health insurance program that covers part of the medical fees incurred due to illness or injury, by sharing costs between the national and local governments and individuals. If you present your national health insurance certificate to a medical facility, you only pay 30% of the medical fees applicable to the Health Insurance Law and the rest will be covered by the national health insurance.
*Please note that, in Japan, you are expected to pay your entire bill when you leave the hospital. There is no option to have the bill sent to an insurance company or to pay later. Even if you have health insurance from your home country, you will have to pay the bill up front, so enrolling in the NHI is mandatory, regardless of any other insurance you may hold.
2. Obligation to Enroll in National Health Insurance
According to the Ordinance of Enforcement of the Health Insurance Law (revised April 1st, 1986 and June 8th, 2004), all foreign residents who will stay in Japan for more than three months and have registered their address with the local government are required to join the National Health Insurance program. You cannot withdraw from this program at your own discretion.
3. Enrollment Procedures and Registration
a. Bring your residence card and your passport to the insurance and pension division of your ward office or the health insurance division of your city hall to subscribe to the insurance.
b. As you are eligible for the national health insurance program from the day you complete your basic resident registration, you must fill out the health insurance application form together with the basic resident registration (movingͲin notice) at the city hall or ward office. If you do not enroll in the insurance program shortly after the basic resident registration, you may later be required to pay insurance premiums for the period in which you were not insured. Additionally, you will be responsible to pay in full any hospital fees billed during the period before you register for the insurance.
c. International students who lived in Japan before they entered the university are required to follow procedures to register a change of address in their basic residence registration, by submitting a movingͲin notice to the city hall or ward office in which they are going to reside, and join the national health insurance program. The national health insurance card issued by the city hall or ward office in which they previously resided cannot be used. Please note that you first have to submit a moving out notice in your previous city of residence before moving.
d. You must notify the insurance and pension division of your ward office or the national health insurance division of your city hall of the following below:
- When you make changes such as your name or address
- Within 14 days of the change.
- When you leave Japan to study abroad, take a leave of absence, graduate from the university or complete your studies at the university
- Before you leave Japan.
Note: If you fail to notify your city hall or ward office of your departure from Japan when you study abroad or take a leave of absence, you will not be able to have a new national health insurance card issued or may have to pay the premiums for the period in which you were not staying in Japan.
4. Insurance Premium and Application for Reduction of the Premium
Monthly insurance payments vary depending on municipality. You can receive a reduction on your insurance premium based on your gross income from the previous year (up to a 70 percent reduction if your gross income from the previous year is low). Your premium will not necessarily be automatically reduced because you do not have any income. You must apply to receive a reduction on the premium every year. Be careful, your premium may increase dramatically if you fail to report your income. (You will receive relevant paperwork in the mail annually beginning from the next fiscal year.) Please note that you may not be entitled to a reduction of the premium if you earn high income from part-time jobs. For details, please contact the division of insurance and pension or health insurance of your city hall or ward office. You may also acquire the income statement application form from there.
5. High-Cost Medical Fees
If the medical fees you incurred during a given month exceed the payment limit, you are required to pay the full amount. However, if you apply for a refund of the amount that exceeds the payment limit through the national health insurance division of your city hall or ward office and your application is approved, the amount will be refunded to you at a later time. Please contact the city hall or ward office for details and procedures.
2) Program to Promote Enrollment in the National Health Insurance Program
Ritsumeikan University have introduced the following subsidy program to reduce the burden of insurance premiums for international students.
* To receive the subsidy, you must apply for the program every academic year. Also, those who have not paid their National Health Insurance fees are ineligible for the subsidy.
- Program to support international students by Ritsumeikan University’s Parents Association of Student Education Assistance
Eligibility: Undergraduate degree-seeking students enrolled in the association. Only one person per household is eligible. (Graduate students and short-term international students are not eligible for the program.)
Content: Subsidy of a portion of National Health Insurance fees (5,000 yen/year)Application period: Applications are accepted twice per year (spring and fall semester)
* The program will be announced via the international student mailing list, manaba+R, and the International Center webpage.
3) National Pension
Those living in Japan and who are between 20 to 60 years of age, including international students, are required by law to join the National Pension and pay the required insurance fees. However, payment of these insurance fees can be deferred by applying for the “Special Payment System for Students”. For more detailed information, please go to the Japan Pension Service’s webpage.
- (English) http://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/english/index.html
- (Japanese) http://www.nenkin.go.jp/n/www/index.html