Enroll in National Health Insurance

If your employer does not enroll you in shakai hoken (company health insurance), you must enroll in National Health Insurance (kokuho) within 14 days of registering your address. In many cases, you can handle this at the same counter as your move-in notification.

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Documents needed

✓Residence Card

✓Passport

✓Something showing your My Number (can be confirmed at the counter after move-in registration)

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Steps

Go to the move-in notification counter or the National Health Insurance counter

Fill in the enrollment form and present your Residence Card and Passport

A 'Qualification Confirmation Card' or 'Eligibility Information Notice' will be issued or mailed to you (varies by municipality and My Number health insurance registration status)

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Important notes

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File within 14 days of the day you become eligible, which is the day you move in (NHI Enforcement Regulations, art. 2). Filing late can mean paying the full cost of any treatment in the meantime and claiming it back later

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Premiums are based on the previous year's income. If you had no income in Japan in the prior year, you may qualify for a reduction — but the calculation method varies by municipality, so ask at the counter

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International students can also enroll in National Health Insurance. Check whether your school offers its own insurance plan first

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People insured under an employer's health insurance, and their dependants, are excluded from National Health Insurance (NHI Act, art. 6). If you take a job and join your employer's scheme, file the loss of NHI eligibility within 14 days

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The person obliged to file is the head of household, not you personally (NHI Enforcement Regulations, art. 2) - and that holds even when the head of household is on employer insurance and not covered by National Health Insurance themselves

🔗 Related procedures

Official info verified: 2026-09-10 / Source: laws.e-gov.go.jp ↗

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