No Social Security Agreement with Ukraine: Enrolling in Japan’s Health Insurance and Pension

Japan has social security agreements with 24 countries, but not with Ukraine. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s (MHLW, 厉生労働省) list (as of 2 June 2026) does not include Ukraine’s name in any column — in force, signed, under intergovernmental negotiation, or in preliminary talks. Because of this, there is no mechanism for adding periods of pension enrollment in Ukraine to periods in Japan’s pension system. Even so, the basic rule is that everyone living in Japan, regardless of nationality, joins Japan’s health insurance and pension systems. Below, this article explains how to tell which system you fall under, the premiums involved, and the lump-sum withdrawal payment for when you leave Japan, based on the Immigration Services Agency’s (ISA, 出入国在留管理庁) 生活・就労ガイドブック (Guidebook on Living and Working, Japanese edition, 8th edition, February 2026), the Japan Pension Service (日本年金機構), and MHLW’s official pages. The content was confirmed in September 2026.

Which insurance you join, and whether you are eligible, depends on your status of residence and how you work — this article does not make that determination for you. Check with your municipal office or a pension office.

Health insurance: employment-based, or National Health Insurance?

The Guidebook states, “Everyone living in Japan, regardless of nationality, is required to join public medical insurance.” You join either your employer’s “health insurance” or your municipality’s “National Health Insurance.”

Employment-based health insurance

According to the Guidebook, health insurance covers full-time employees, corporate representatives and officers, and part-time or temporary workers whose scheduled hours are at least three-quarters of a full-time employee’s at the same company. Even those working fewer hours join if they meet all five of the following: working at least 20 hours a week, expected to work for more than two months, monthly wages of at least 88,000 yen, not a student, and working at a company with 51 or more employees. Premiums are, in principle, split evenly between the company and the individual, and dependent family members owe no premium of their own.

These conditions are in the process of changing. The same Guidebook states that the company-size requirement will step down — to 36 or more employees from 1 October 2027, and 21 or more from 1 October 2029, before being removed entirely from 1 October 2035 (MHLW’s explanatory material on the pension reform law also mentions a stage of 11 or more employees from October 2032 in between) — and that the wage requirement is also set to be removed in the future.

National Health Insurance

People under 75 who do not have employment-based health insurance and are registered residents join National Health Insurance (国民健康保険). The Guidebook states that the following foreign nationals are not eligible to join:

• People whose period of stay is 3 months or less (though someone with a status of residence such as Designated Activities who is recognized, based on supporting documents, as staying for more than 3 months can join)
• People with the status of residence “Temporary Visitor” (短期滋在)
• People with the status of residence “Designated Activities” whose activity is receiving medical treatment, providing everyday care to such a person, or sightseeing/recuperation
• People with the status of residence “Diplomat,” and people with no status of residence
• Nationals of a country that has a social security agreement with Japan covering health insurance, who hold a certificate of coverage from their home country

Enrollment and withdrawal are handled at the municipal office. Moving to a different municipality, or joining employment-based health insurance, requires a withdrawal procedure. Premiums are calculated per household based on income and the number of members, and are paid by the head of the household. The Guidebook also notes that premiums may be reduced depending on income and living circumstances.

What the insurance covers

Under either type of insurance, the share of medical costs paid at the counter is 20% for children under 6 (before starting elementary school), 30% for people under 70, and 20% for people 70 to 74 (30% for those with income comparable to working-age earners). If your payments in a month exceed a certain amount, the excess is refunded under the “High-Cost Medical Care” system, and the “Lump-Sum Childbirth and Childcare Allowance” for giving birth is, in principle, 500,000 yen per child. Employment-based health insurance also includes a “Sickness and Injury Allowance” for extended time off due to illness or injury. Preparations for visiting a hospital are covered in the article getting ready before a hospital visit.

People aged 40 or older who live in Japan for more than 3 months are also subject to long-term care insurance. For people aged 40 to 64, the long-term care insurance premium is added on top of the health insurance premium.

Pension: everyone from age 20 to 59 joins

Article 7 of the National Pension Act defines an insured person of the National Pension (国民年金) as anyone aged 20 or older and under 60 who has an address in Japan. Nationality is not a condition. Per the Guidebook’s explanation, enrollment falls into three categories:

• Category 1 insured persons: self-employed people, students, and others who do not fall under either of the next two categories. The person themselves handles the procedure at their municipal office
• Category 2 insured persons: people employed at a company or similar and enrolled in Employees’ Pension Insurance (厚生年金保険). The company handles the procedure. The conditions for joining Employees’ Pension Insurance are the same as for health insurance
• Category 3 insured persons: the spouse of a Category 2 insured person, dependent on them. The procedure is handled through the spouse’s employer

Premiums, and what to do if you cannot pay

For FY2026 (April 2026 – March 2027), the National Pension premium for Category 1 insured persons is 17,920 yen a month (Japan Pension Service). The payment deadline is the last day of the month following the month being paid for, and payment can be made by bank transfer or at a convenience store, among other methods.

If paying is difficult — because your income has fallen, you have lost your job, or for similar reasons — you can apply for an exemption (full, three-quarters, half, or one-quarter) or a payment deferral. The Japan Pension Service explains that even a period of full exemption counts toward your old-age basic pension at one-half the amount you would receive if you had paid in full, but that if you simply leave the premium unpaid without applying, you receive none of that one-half. If you become disabled or die during a period of exemption or deferral, you can still receive the basic disability pension or basic survivors’ pension if you meet the requirements. Applications can be made for any period within 2 years of the payment deadline.

A pension is not only for old age. The Guidebook warns that continued non-payment of premiums can mean you are unable to receive the basic disability pension if you become disabled, or the basic survivors’ pension your family would receive if you die.

There is no social security agreement between Japan and Ukraine

A social security agreement is an arrangement between two countries. The Japan Pension Service cites two purposes for such agreements: preventing “double contributions” — paying premiums in both the country you work in and your own country — and combining periods of pension enrollment in both countries, making it easier to meet the period required to receive a pension.

According to the Japan Pension Service, an agreement with Austria took effect on 1 December 2025, bringing the number of agreements in force to 24. In MHLW’s “Status of Social Security Agreements” (as of 2 June 2026), Poland has signed but not yet brought one into force, Turkey, Norway and Vietnam are under intergovernmental negotiation, and Thailand is in preliminary talks — and Ukraine appears in none of these categories.

Receiving Japan’s old-age basic pension requires at least 10 years combining the period during which premiums were paid and periods of exemption and the like (Guidebook). Because there is no agreement, a period of pension enrollment in Ukraine cannot be added to Japan’s 10-year requirement. Whether a Ukrainian pension can be received while living in Japan is a matter for Ukraine’s own system, and is not covered in this article on receiving a Ukrainian pension while living in Japan.

Leaving Japan: the lump-sum withdrawal payment

A person without Japanese nationality who has paid premiums into Japan’s pension system for at least 6 months and then leaves Japan without an address there can claim the “Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment” (脱退一時金). The main requirements listed by the Japan Pension Service and the Guidebook are as follows.

• Does not hold Japanese nationality
• Has at least 6 months combining periods such as paid National Pension premiums, or periods enrolled in Employees’ Pension Insurance
• Does not meet the 10-year period required to receive an old-age pension
• Has never held the right to receive a disability pension or similar
• Has no address in Japan and is not an insured person of the National Pension or Employees’ Pension Insurance
• Claims within 2 years of no longer having an address in Japan

The amount of the National Pension lump-sum withdrawal payment is calculated based on the premium amount for the fiscal year of the last month a premium was paid, with a cap of 60 months (5 years). According to the Japan Pension Service, if the last month a premium was paid falls between April 2026 and March 2027, the amount is 53,760 yen for 6 up to 12 months, and 537,600 yen for 60 months or more. The lump-sum withdrawal payment for Employees’ Pension Insurance is calculated by a different formula, based on wage amounts and the period of enrollment.

Period of paid National Pension premiums, etc.	National Pension lump-sum withdrawal payment amount
6 up to 12 months	53,760 yen
12 up to 18 months	107,520 yen
24 up to 30 months	215,040 yen
36 up to 42 months	322,560 yen
60 months or more	537,600 yen

There are things worth knowing before you claim.

• Claiming it erases your entire record of pension enrollment in Japan up to that point. The Guidebook advises thinking carefully about whether to claim it, bearing in mind the possibility of receiving Japan’s old-age pension in the future
• The claim form is bilingual, in Japanese and a foreign language; Russian is among the supported languages, but Ukrainian is not (Japan Pension Service, as of September 2026)
• If you still have an address in Japan on the day the Japan Pension Service receives your claim, you cannot receive the payment. File your notification of moving out with your municipality first, then make the claim
• Japan Post Bank and some internet-only banks cannot be used as the receiving account

The system is set to change. Under the pension reform law enacted in June 2025, it was decided that a person who leaves Japan with a re-entry permit cannot receive the lump-sum withdrawal payment while that permit remains valid, and that the cap on the payment will be raised from 5 years to 8 years. According to MHLW’s materials, this change is to take effect on a date set by cabinet order within 4 years of promulgation. As of September 2026, the Japan Pension Service’s page still describes the 60-month cap.

Where to complete the procedures

System	Who joins	Where to go
Health insurance	People who meet the conditions and work at a company, etc.	Your employer
National Health Insurance	Registered residents under 75 who do not have employment-based insurance (some statuses of residence are not eligible)	Your municipal office
National Pension (Category 1)	People aged 20 or older and under 60 with an address in Japan who are not Category 2 or 3	Your municipal office
Employees’ Pension Insurance	People who meet the conditions and work at a company, etc.	Your employer
Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment	Foreign nationals who have left Japan and no longer have an address there (conditions apply)	Japan Pension Service (by mail or online application)

The Guidebook on Living and Working has a Ukrainian edition, including the chapters on medical insurance and on pensions and welfare. However, the multilingual edition is the 7th edition, a different edition from the Japanese 8th edition. The relationship between resident registration and insurance is covered in terms that come up in Japan’s resident registration, and where to turn for help is covered in where to ask first when you start living in Japan.