•Universities and graduate schools, junior colleges, high schools, technical colleges, special needs schools, specialised training colleges and miscellaneous schools with courses of a year or more, and some Japanese branches of overseas universities all count — including evening, part-time and correspondence courses. The official list of eligible schools confirms it
•An approved period counts toward the ten years of coverage needed to receive the Old-age Basic Pension, but not toward the calculation of the amount. A full Old-age Basic Pension requires 40 years of paid contributions
•You can pay the deferred contributions later, within ten years. From the third fiscal year after the approved period onward, an amount is added on top of the original contribution to reflect the time elapsed
•Applying late can cost you the Disability Basic Pension for an injury or illness arising before the application date. An approved period is otherwise treated like a paid period when the contribution requirement for Disability and Survivor's Basic Pension is assessed
•Applications are assessed for April through the following March (or the previous April through March if you apply between January and March). You can apply retroactively for any period still within two years of its payment deadline. Each fiscal year needs its own form
•Payment slips are sometimes sent even when you file this application at the same time as enrolling in the National Pension
•If you stop being a student during an approved period — by withdrawing, for instance — you have to report it
•If you have not filed taxes on your previous year's (or the year before that) income, file a municipal tax return at the city or ward tax desk before submitting this application
•Note the country and the dates in the form's remarks field if you moved into or out of Japan during the application period, or if you were living abroad on January 1 of the year you are applying for