RetireJapan

I don't really understand the differences between the types of insurance, but:

- I used to work for a company and had shakai hoken.
- I was layed off due to lack of work, so was unemployed.
- I went to my local city hall and signed up for health insurance. I have a blue card that says 全国健康保険. I know there was a different option for health insurance, but I was recommended this option and it seems the monthly payments were similar regardless of which I chose. I don't know if this was the right choice.
- I recently moved to start a new job. They told me that while on probation for 3 months they will not pay my health payments.
- I received a bill for my health payment, forwarded from my old address.
- I went to City Hall at the new city to change my address. They told me to call a number in my old prefecture. I did that. They told me to call a number in the new prefecture. I did that too. The new prefecture told me to contact my workplace and have them call them. I did that.
- I told my new employer about this. Apparently they phoned, then told me to go to City Hall and give them a paper that says, "国民健康保険に切り替えたい。最近金沢に引っ越してきた。"
- I haven't gone to City Hall, because all I wanted to do was change my mailing address, not change the type of insurance. I told my new employer this, and I'm waiting for a response.

- My questions are:
- Am I currently in the best insurance plan and why/why not?
- Should I change to the one as per my employer's note?
- Why am I getting the run-around just for a simple change of address?

Thanks for any help.

Hmmm. Not sure about your new employer's policy there.

If they are allowed to do that , then yes, you would register for kokumin kenko hoken because you don't have shakai hoken through your employer.

Presumably in three months' time your employer will then enrol you into shakai hoken.

So yes, I would go back to city hall and finish the paperwork.

When you moved house, you should have gone to the Municipal Office of your old Ward/City/Town in your old Prefecture to Register Moving Out, telling them that you were relocating to your new Prefecture/Ward/City/Town.

When you arrived at your new house, you should have gone to the Municipal Office of you new Ward/City/Town to Register Moving In with 14 days, telling them that you were relocating from your old Prefecture/Ward/City/Town.

They would then have transferred your Juminhyo and your National Health Insurance and Pension collection from the old Prefecture to the new Prefecture.
You still owe your Residents' Taxes for 2023 to your old Prefecture/Ward/City/Town until June of 2025.

You will have to go to, or get someone to go on your behalf with an Ininjo 委任状 - Power of Atourney to the old Ward/City/Town to submit the Moving Out Notification.

You will have to go to the new Ward/City/Town to submit the Moving In Notification. At the same time, you can submit the notification that you are joining your new employer's Health and Pension Scheme from the end of your Probation. You will need to pay National Health and Pension premiums for the period you are not covered by the new employer's scheme.

Pension Contributions are Nationwide, but National Health Insurance is not.

National Health Insurance Premiums are calculated on a City by City or Prefectural basis.
You should search the internet for <City> NHI Handbook
for details of the calculation method for each of your old location and new location.


National Health Insurance is split into three categories, each with two or three components, depending on prefecture.

Basic Health Insurance
Latter Life (End-of-Life) Care
Long-Term Nursing Care

Each consists of

A Per Insured Person Premium
(A Per Household Premium - only in certain locations)
Household Income Related Premium calculated on last year's total taxable income.

https://www.kyoukaikenpo.or.jp/g7/cat33 ... 06/240205/

Self wrote: ↑Fri Oct 11, 2024 6:05 am I don't really understand the differences between the types of insurance, but:

- I used to work for a company and had shakai hoken.
- I was layed off due to lack of work, so was unemployed.
- I went to my local city hall and signed up for health insurance. I have a blue card that says 全国健康保険. I know there was a different option for health insurance, but I was recommended this option and it seems the monthly payments were similar regardless of which I chose. I don't know if this was the right choice.
- I recently moved to start a new job. They told me that while on probation for 3 months they will not pay my health payments.
- I received a bill for my health payment, forwarded from my old address.
- I went to City Hall at the new city to change my address. They told me to call a number in my old prefecture. I did that. They told me to call a number in the new prefecture. I did that too. The new prefecture told me to contact my workplace and have them call them. I did that.
- I told my new employer about this. Apparently they phoned, then told me to go to City Hall and give them a paper that says, "国民健康保険に切り替えたい。最近金沢に引っ越してきた。"
- I haven't gone to City Hall, because all I wanted to do was change my mailing address, not change the type of insurance. I told my new employer this, and I'm waiting for a response.

- My questions are:
- Am I currently in the best insurance plan and why/why not?
- Should I change to the one as per my employer's note?
- Why am I getting the run-around just for a simple change of address?

Thanks for any help.

Not paying your health insurance during your probation period? Sounds shady and "black" to me.
That might be illegal, but I am no expert.
Crazy what Japanese companies will skrimp on paying these days....
Truly a race to the bottom.

Roger Van Zant wrote: ↑Fri Oct 11, 2024 8:05 am
Not paying your health insurance during your probation period? Sounds shady and "black" to me.

Agreed. There are rules about size of company and structure of company in terms of whether they are obliged to pay the company contributions for shakai hoken, but these are becoming much stricter to protect workers / root out these 'black' companies.

It would be interesting to hear their arguments about how probation is related to shakai hoken regulations. In my understanding, Japanese labour law does not acknowledge the idea of probation. An employee in a probation period has all the same rights as one who has completed that period.

beanhead wrote: ↑Sat Oct 12, 2024 12:44 am
Agreed. There are rules about size of company and structure of company in terms of whether they are obliged to pay the company contributions for shakai hoken, but these are becoming much stricter to protect workers / root out these 'black' companies.

Discussed in this thread:
viewtopic.php?t=1889

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Fri Oct 11, 2024 7:08 am So yes, I would go back to city hall and finish the paperwork.

What paperwork? When I went to City Hall, they told me to call a certain phone number. They didn't have any paperwork for me to do.

When you moved house, you should have gone to the Municipal Office of your old Ward/City/Town in your old Prefecture to Register Moving Out, telling them that you were relocating to your new Prefecture/Ward/City/Town.

When you arrived at your new house, you should have gone to the Municipal Office of you new Ward/City/Town to Register Moving In with 14 days, telling them that you were relocating from your old Prefecture/Ward/City/Town.

I did.

They would then have transferred your Juminhyo and your National Health Insurance and Pension collection from the old Prefecture to the new Prefecture.

When I registered as a resident, I asked at the new City Hall about health and pension and they said I didn't have to do anything.

Thanks for the info. about how the health insurance is structured.

Not paying your health insurance during your probation period? Sounds shady and "black" to me.
That might be illegal, but I am no expert.

Well, I've worked for places that didn't pay my health insurance at all. It was all up to me. I think a lot of companies are like that. So, the company just leaving it to me during probation doesn't sound overly bad to me.

Self wrote: ↑Sat Oct 12, 2024 1:11 pm When I registered as a resident, I asked at the new City Hall about health and pension and they said I didn't have to do anything.

The people at the new City Hall should have directed you to the Pension and Health Insurance Desks in the City Hall to make sure everything was transitioned properly...