Social Insurance Premiums in Japan: Read the Deductions on Your Payslip
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Category: Overcoming Job-Change Anxiety
Authors: Shusaku Yosa
Social insurance premiums fund public protection against risks such as illness, old age, and unemployment. Employees in Japan commonly see their shares of health insurance, Employees' Pension Insurance, and employment insurance deducted from pay. The calculation base is not identical for every line.
This guide helps employees enrolled through a Japanese workplace check their payslips. Official information was reviewed on October 21, 2026. It does not determine individual enrollment or dependent eligibility, or estimate National Health Insurance after leaving employment.
Identify what each deduction represents
In its broad sense, social insurance includes health, pension, long-term care, workers' compensation, and employment insurance. A company's use of “social insurance” may refer more narrowly to health and pension coverage, so ask what is included.
Item | What to check |
|---|---|
Health insurance | Your insurer, applicable rate, and employee share |
Employees' Pension Insurance | The employee premium based on standard monthly remuneration |
Long-term care insurance | Category 2 insured persons aged 40–64 in medical insurance; collection from age 65 is different |
Employment insurance | Covered wages paid that month and the employee rate for the business category |
Workers' compensation insurance | Premiums for employed workers are fully employer-funded; this is not an ordinary employee deduction |
The child and child-rearing support levy began for April 2026 insurance months and is collected with medical insurance. It is separate from the similarly named employer-only child and child-rearing contribution. A payslip may combine the levy with health insurance, so a missing standalone line does not prove that it was not collected.
Income tax, resident tax, housing charges, and union dues may also appear under deductions, but they are not insurance premiums. See our guide to gross income, take-home pay, and annual salary for the wider distinction.
Find the calculation base before applying a rate
Monthly health and pension premiums generally use standard monthly remuneration: a band-based amount rather than simply this month's basic salary or net pay. Commuting allowances are included in remuneration; their tax treatment does not make them exempt from this insurance calculation.
Employment insurance instead uses covered wages paid. Different implied salary bases for health and employment insurance do not, by themselves, show a payroll error. Bonuses also have separate calculations, including standard bonus amounts, so check a bonus statement separately from ordinary monthly pay.
Ask payroll for the applicable band and standard monthly remuneration for both health and pension insurance, together with the insurance month being collected. Their limits differ, so the two bases are not always identical.
An illustrative calculation using ¥300,000
Assume an October 2026 insurance month, Kyokai Kenpo's Tokyo branch, an employee under 40 in a general business, and standard monthly remuneration of ¥300,000 for both health and pension insurance. Covered wages for employment insurance are also ¥300,000. There is no bonus, exemption, or adjustment for earlier months, and the employee is not an Employees' Pension Fund member.
Item | Calculation | Employee share |
|---|---|---|
Health insurance | ¥300,000 × 9.85% ÷ 2 | ¥14,775 |
Employees' Pension Insurance | ¥300,000 × 18.3% ÷ 2 | ¥27,450 |
Child and child-rearing support levy | ¥300,000 × 0.23% ÷ 2 | ¥345 |
Employment insurance | ¥300,000 × 0.5% | ¥1,500 |
Total | These employee shares only | ¥44,070 |
The rates come from the FY2026 Tokyo premium table and MHLW's FY2026 employment insurance rates. The table's health-related and pension rates are combined employer-and-employee rates. The employment insurance rate of 0.5% is already the employee rate; do not halve it again.
For a Category 2 long-term care insured person under otherwise identical assumptions, add ¥300,000 × 1.62% ÷ 2 = ¥2,430, making the total ¥46,500. Actual amounts depend on the insurer, age, exemptions, and rounding. Taxes and other deductions are excluded: subtracting this total from ¥300,000 does not establish take-home pay.
Why deductions can change without a new basic salary
Possible cause | Ask payroll to identify |
|---|---|
A revised remuneration band | Annual review or an eligible interim revision, and its effective insurance month |
A rate revision | The current insurer table and effective month |
An age-related change | When coverage such as long-term care insurance began |
Joining, leaving, leave, or adjustments | Eligibility dates, exemptions, or corrections for earlier months |
The annual review generally uses remuneration received in April–June and applies from the September insurance month. Exceptions concern eligible months and payment-basis days. Interim revisions following changes such as a pay rise also have conditions. One month of higher overtime does not mean every premium immediately increases proportionately the following month.
The insurance month and the payroll payment month are separate. Check the company's collection timing before comparing statements. Payment during unpaid absence is a different issue, covered in social insurance during leave.
A practical question for payroll
“Please explain the insurer, rate, standard monthly remuneration, and insurance month behind this month's health insurance deduction. Does the difference from last month include a revision or adjustment?”
Place consecutive statements side by side and identify the exact line you want explained. When comparing jobs, align basic pay, allowances, bonuses, and working conditions as well as deductions. Our ¥300,000 take-home pay guide addresses the broader monthly budget question.
