Insurance is a topic that many try to avoid when they don’t know much about it. However, you should seriously consider this, especially if you’re planning on living abroad. And living in Japan is no exception.
Although there is a large language barrier that can make things complicated and confusing, Japan as a country is putting effort into making things easier for foreigners to come and live in Japan.
In this article, I will explain a little about the overview of insurance for foreign nationals in Japan as well as introduce to you some of the most common and well-known insurances in Japan. I will cover medical insurance (both public and private), life insurance, and non-life insurance in this article. Get to know some of the insurance options in Japan.
Overview of insurance for foreign nationals in Japan
Before we go into the details of each insurance type, let me briefly show you the overview of insurance for foreigners in Japan. The following are results from a survey made by the company “Survey Research Center Co., Ltd.” to 1,000 foreign nationals in May 2022.
When it comes to public insurance, 95.9% declared that they are enrolled in public medical insurance.
When it comes to private insurance, regardless of the type of insurance, only 53.3% are enrolled in some type of private insurance. Out of that 53.3%, 32.3% are enrolled in private health insurance, 27.3% are enrolled in life insurance, and 22.4% are enrolled in auto insurance.
Reasons for not enrolling in private insurance include: being too expensive to pay (36.6%), too complicated to understand (30.8%), and not knowing who to consult (25.5%). However, about 40% of those not enrolled in private insurance say they are interested in applying, especially those who are staying less than 3 years in Japan such as students.
Public Medical Insurance
You should know that everyone (Japanese and non-Japanese) who lives in Japan or who is staying for over 3 months in Japan has to enroll in one of two public medical insurance options Japan offers. these options are National Health Insurance (NHI) and Employee Health Insurance (EHI).
If you are enrolled in one of these health insurances, the Japanese government will cover about 70% of costs including medical appointments, medical tests, and medical prescriptions. This means you need to pay only the remaining 30%. This percentage can also vary depending on the patient’s income. This coverage amount is the same for both NHI and EHI.
Other benefits that these two insurances share include High-cost medical care benefit system (高額療養費制度), Direct Payment System for the Childbirth Lump-Sum Allowance (出産育児一時金), and Long-Term Care Insurance (介護保険制度).
National Health Insurance
The National Health Insurance (国民健康保険), also known as simply “NHI”, is one of the public medical insurance options you have when living in Japan. This insurance is managed by the Prefectural government and the municipality.
People eligible for this insurance include those who are self-employed, those unemployed, and foreign nationals who are staying longer than 3 months in Japan
The insurance premium will depend on your income from the year before as well as your age and the number of people in your household. The details of how this insurance premium is decided vary depending on the municipality.
Employee Health Insurance
Employee Health Insurance (社会保険), also known as simply “EHI”, is the other public medical insurance option you have when living in Japan. This insurance is managed by either the National Health Insurance Association (全国健康保険協会) or the corporate health insurance society where the recipient works at.
People eligible for this insurance include those who work at a private company. This includes both full-time and part-time (as long as they meet the requirements).
The insurance premium will depend on your average income from April to June, and this cost of EHI is split between employee and employer, making it more economical compared to NHI.
Private Medical Insurance
Private medical insurance is managed by private insurance companies. As opposed to public medical insurance, private medical insurance is not mandatory. “If public medical insurance is mandatory in Japan, then why is there private medical insurance?”, you might ask.
Many people in Japan enroll in private medical insurance in order to cover some of the costs that patients are normally responsible for after public insurance is applied. Also, There are some things that public insurance doesn’t cover such as orthodontics and some types of advanced medical treatments.
The cost of these insurances can vary depending on the insurance company as well as your age and the coverage plan you choose. One thing to be careful about is that not everyone is eligible for private medical insurance. Depending on your state of health or your age, there’s a possibility that you can not enroll in certain insurances. This will vary on the insurance company, so be sure to check thoroughly beforehand.
The following is a private medical insurance company that offers services in English.