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Home›Changing / Leaving Job›Unemployment Benefit Application

Unemployment Benefit Application

If there is a gap between jobs, you can apply for unemployment benefits (basic allowance) at Hello Work. Bring your separation certificates and register as a job seeker to start the process.

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Documents needed

✓Separation Certificates 1 and 2 (from former employer)
✓Residence Card
✓Driver's license or My Number Card (ID verification)
✓Two photographs (recent, front-facing upper body, 3.0cm tall by 2.4cm wide). These can be omitted for this and each later claim by presenting your My Number card
✓A bank passbook or cash card in your own name (some financial institutions cannot be designated; Japan Post Bank can)
✓Individual number (My Number) verification document — My Number Card, notification card, or residence certificate showing your My Number
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Steps

1

Visit your local Hello Work office with your separation certificates and register as a job seeker

2

Once eligibility is confirmed, you will be scheduled for an orientation session. After the session, you receive your 'Employment Insurance Benefits Receipt Card' and 'Unemployment Recognition Report Form', and your first recognition date is set

3

No basic allowance is paid for the seven days following the date your eligibility is determined — the waiting period. If you left voluntarily, depending on the stated reason no allowance is paid for a further two months after that (three months if you have left voluntarily twice or more in the past five years). Article 33 of the Employment Insurance Act sets this at between one and three months, as determined by the head of the Hello Work office

4

Appear at Hello Work on each recognition date (every 4 weeks) to report your job-seeking activities

5

Approved benefit payments are transferred to your designated bank account

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Important notes

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Eligibility requires that you are immediately available for work and actively job-seeking. If you already have a job offer, or cannot work immediately due to illness or childcare, you do not qualify

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Foreign nationals can receive benefits on the same terms as Japanese nationals, provided they hold a work-eligible residence status

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The benefit period starts the day after your last day and lasts 1 year — failing to apply within this window forfeits your entitlement

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Any part-time or side income earned during the benefit period must be declared — undeclared income constitutes fraudulent receipt

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The daily benefit is your daily wage - calculated from the 6 months of pay before you left - multiplied by a benefit rate. The rate is 50% as standard, rises to 80% in the lowest wage band, and tapers from 80% down to 50% across the band in between (Employment Insurance Act, art. 16(1)). If you were 60 to 64 on the day you left, that 50% becomes 45% (art. 16(2))

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You must show evidence of job-seeking activity (applications, interviews, etc.) at each recognition appointment

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Eligibility: at least 12 months of insured periods in the 2 years before leaving (6 months in the previous year for those who lost their job through bankruptcy, dismissal, or similar). A month counts if it had 11 or more paid days or 80 or more paid hours

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The number of benefit days ranges from 90 to 360, depending on your age at separation, how long you were insured, and the reason for leaving

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If illness, injury, pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare stops you from working for 30 or more consecutive days during your benefit period, you can extend that period by the same number of days (up to 3 years in total). Apply at your local Hello Work soon after the day you became unable to work

Official info verified: 2026-09-15 / Source: hellowork.mhlw.go.jp ↗
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