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2026-04-01
3 New Fields Added to Specified Skills
From April 2026, linen supply, logistics warehousing, and resource recycling added to Specified Skills. Total 19 fields, 5-year cap expanded to 1.23M.
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2026-04-01Work
👷 Social Insurance Coverage Expands! Now for Companies with 51+ Employees
Effective April 1, 2026 — Part-time workers should check
51+
Company Size
20h
Weekly Hours
¥88K
Monthly Wage
50%
Employer Pays
❓ What's changing?
Social insurance (health insurance & employees' pension) coverage, previously required for companies with 101+ employees, now expands to companies with 51+ employees. Part-time workers working 20+ hours per week will be newly covered.
✅ New coverage conditions
- ●Work at a company with 51+ employees
- ●Scheduled weekly hours of 20+
- ●Monthly wage of ¥88,000+ (annual ~¥1.06M)
- ●Expected employment exceeding 2 months
- ●Not a student
🌟 Benefits of enrollment
🏥Better health insurance benefits (sickness & maternity allowance)
💰Higher future pension (employees' pension added on top)
👶Insurance premium exemption during maternity/childcare leave
🩺Stronger disability & survivor pension coverage
⚠️ Things to note
- ▲Premiums deducted from salary (lower take-home pay)
- ▲Employer pays half
- ▲May lose dependent status (spouse's coverage)
- ▲Watch the ¥1.06M wall — may need to adjust work hours
📅 Coverage expansion timeline
Oct 2016501+ employees
✅ ImplementedOct 2022101+ employees
✅ ImplementedApr 202651+ employees
🆕 This time💡 Key points to know
1Check with HR if your company is covered
2Take-home pay decreases but future pension/coverage increases
3If you want to stay as a dependent, adjust hours/income
4Foreign workers are covered under the same conditions as Japanese
🔗 Related Issues
🏥→
2026-04-01
Dependent Status Criteria Changed
From April 2026, dependent status based on projected income instead of past income. Temporary spikes won't disqualify. ¥1.3M wall remains.
👴→
2026-04-01
In-Service Old-Age Pension Cap Raised ¥500K→¥620K
From April 2026, the earnings threshold for pension reduction while working rises from ¥500K to ¥620K/month. Elderly foreign residents working and receiving pension may see higher payouts.