# Japanese Health Insurance v Japanese National Health Insurance )



## Kumamon

Does anyone else work FULL-TIME (5 days a week) but still the employer only puts them on the Japanese National Health Insurance (SNIPPED)?

It seems an easy trick for bosses to get away with.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos

Kumamon said:


> Does anyone else work FULL-TIME (5 days a week) but still the employer only puts them on the Japanese National Health Insurance ()?
> 
> It seems an easy trick for bosses to get away with.


Well, I have a question. Ten years ago, I was working as a consultant to the United Nations during a two-month stint in Japan. I wanted to visit a doctor. The UN sent me to some sort of clinic that had many doctors in many specialities. I don't speak any Japanese. I had to wait two hours or more before I saw an English speaking doctor. I had to fill in a ton of paperwork and the clinic wound up giving me a medical card of some sort with my name on it. I know no one can answer definitively, but was there a chance that I was enrolled into Japan's national health system? Does the system have a one-off entry or if they enroll you, they enroll you completely?


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## larabell

I've never heard of anyone signing up for NHI at a hospital or clinic so it's more likely the card they gave you was just an ID card for the clinic. I've also never heard of a one-off entry. The idea is that you pay little-by-little when you're not sick and that covers you for when you are. A one-off deal wouldn't really be insurance, would it?

It's possible the UN either enrolled you without you knowing or they have some kind of special deal with the clinic to cover the folks working for them (maybe some kind of diplomatic deal with the Japanese government where they pay the clinic as needed).


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos

larabell said:


> I've never heard of anyone signing up for NHI at a hospital or clinic so it's more likely the card they gave you was just an ID card for the clinic. I've also never heard of a one-off entry. The idea is that you pay little-by-little when you're not sick and that covers you for when you are. A one-off deal wouldn't really be insurance, would it?
> 
> It's possible the UN either enrolled you without you knowing or they have some kind of special deal with the clinic to cover the folks working for them (maybe some kind of diplomatic deal with the Japanese government where they pay the clinic as needed).


OK, thanks much, Lara. I didn't have any plans to take advantage of it, but just in case ...


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## Kumamon

For people who are staying short term it is more likely they will have private insurance.

For people who staying long term, they are required by law to have some kind of national insurance.

Respectable employers put their employees on the Japanese Health Insurance scheme. The employer covers the full cost of the insurance.


Not so respectable employers (Nova & Aeon included) put their employees on the Japanese NATIONAL health insurance scheme. The EMPLOYEE must cover the costs.

Japanese law states that all FULL-TIME employees must be on the Japanese Health Insurance scheme.


But big companies get around this by giving their staff 26-27 hour weeks, meaning that they don't qualify. This is despite working 5 days a week - which technically makes them full-time.


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## larabell

The legal definition of "full-time" is based on how many hours you work, not how many days.


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## Kumamon

larabell said:


> The legal definition of "full-time" is based on how many hours you work, not how many days.



My contract SPECIFICALLY states FULL-TIME.

This is a quote from the General Union Japan website:


Kokumin Kenko/Nenkin Hoken was not designed to cover employed persons, but rather those with no income or fixed income (i.e. unemployed, self-employed). Click here to see what’s not covered by Kokumin Kenko/Nenkin Hoken.

If you work, you should be enrolled in Shakai Hoken/Shigaku Kyosai and your employer must pay 50% of your premiums. End of story!


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