Employees' Pension Insurance Act

If, as of March 31 of any year, the proportion of the number of insureds falling under the highest standard monthly remuneration grade to the total number of insureds exceeds 4 percent, and it is found that those circumstances will continue, the grade classification of the standard monthly remuneration may be revised to add an additional grade above the highest grade, in accordance with Cabinet Order and in consideration of the grade classifications of the standard monthly remuneration under Article 40, paragraph (1) of the Health Insurance Act (Act No. 70 of 1922), beginning September 1 of that year; provided, however, that, as of March 31 of that year, the proportion of the number of insureds falling under the highest standard monthly remuneration grade following the revision to the total number of insureds as of that date must not fall below 3 percent.

Every year, the implementing organization decides an insured's standard monthly remuneration based on the insured's amount of monthly remuneration, which is calculated by dividing the total remuneration which the insured receives during a three-month period prior to July 1 in the year in question at the place of business where the insured is actually employed as of that date by the number of months in that period (the period mentioned above is limited to a period during which the insured was continuously employed at the place of business; and, if there is any month which has fewer than seventeen days (or fewer than eleven days, for a person as specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; the same applies for Article 23, paragraph (1), Article 23-2, paragraph (1) and Article 23-3, paragraph (1)) which forms the basis for the remuneration of remuneration, that month is excluded from the abovementioned period).

The standard monthly remuneration decided upon pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph is the standard monthly remuneration for each month from September of that year to August of the next year.

The provisions of paragraph (1) do not apply to a person who has acquired the status of an insured between June 1 and July 1, nor to those a person whose standard monthly remuneration is or will be revised in any month between July and September pursuant to the provisions of Article 23, Article 23-2 or Article 23-3, but only in the year in question.

When a person acquires the status of an insured, the implementing organization decides that person's standard monthly remuneration by taking the amount provided for in each of the following items to be the amount of monthly remuneration:

if remuneration is determined on a monthly basis, on a weekly basis, or based on any other set period, the amount corresponding to the amount of remuneration as of the day the person acquired the status of an insured, divided by the total number of days in that period, and multiplied by 30;

if remuneration is determined on a daily or hourly basis or based on output or contracted work, the average of the amounts of remuneration that persons engaged in the same kind of work and receiving the same kind of remuneration at the relevant place of business received during the one-month period prior to the month in which the person in question acquired the status of an insured

if it is difficult to calculate an amount pursuant to the preceding two items, the amount of remuneration received that a person engaged in the same kind of work and receiving the same kind of remuneration in the same district received during the one-month period prior to the month in which the person in question acquired the status of an insured; and

if the person receives remuneration that falls under two or more of the preceding three items, the total of those amounts, each of which has first been calculated pursuant to the provisions of the preceding three items.

A standard monthly remuneration that has been determined pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph is the standard monthly remuneration for each month from the month in which the person acquired the status of an insured until August of that year (or until August of the next year, for a person who acquired the status of an insured between June 1 and December 31).

If the amount arrived at when the total amount of remuneration an insured has received during a continuous period of three months at the place of business at which the insured is employed at the time in question (the number of days forming the basis for the payment of remuneration is seventeen days or more in each month) is divided by three is significantly higher or lower than the amount of monthly remuneration that formed the basis for the standard monthly remuneration and the implementing organization finds it to be necessary to do so, it may regard the amount so calculated as the amount of monthly remuneration and revise the amount of standardized remuneration beginning in the month following the month in which that significant high or low occurred.

A standard monthly remuneration that has been revised in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph is the standard monthly remuneration for each month up until August of that year (or up until August of the following year, for standard monthly remuneration revised in any month from July to December).

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 21, if, on the day on which an insured's childcare leave as provided for Article 2, item (i) of the Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members (Act No. 76 of 1991; hereinafter referred to in this paragraph as the "Childcare/Caregiver Leave Act"); leave based on measures equivalent to the system of childcare leave under the provisions of Article 23, paragraph (2) of the Childcare/Caregiver Leave Act or based on measures taken, pursuant to the provisions of Article 24, paragraph (1) (limited to the part pertaining to item (ii)) of the Childcare/Caregiver Leave Act, under the system of childcare leave provided for in item (ii) of that paragraph; childcare leave under the provisions of Article 3, paragraph (1) of the Act on Childcare/Parental Leave of Diet Officers (Act No. 108 of 1991); childcare leave under the provisions of Article 3, paragraph (1) of the Act on Childcare/Parental Leave of National Public Officers (Act No. 109 of 1991) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 27, paragraph (1) of that Act and the Act on Temporary Measures concerning Court Officials (Act No. 299 of 1951) (limited to the part pertaining to item (vii))); childcare leave under the provisions of Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Act on Childcare/Parental Leave of Local Public Officers (Act No. 110 of 1991); or childcare leave under the provisions of Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Act on Childcare/Parental Leave of Judges (Act No. 111 of 1991) (hereinafter referred to as "childcare/parental leave") ends (hereinafter referred to as the "childcare/parental leave end date" in this Article), the insured whose childcare/parental leave has ended is raising the child provided for in Article 2 item (i) of the Childcare/Caregiver Leave Act or person prescribed by Cabinet Order as being similar thereto (referred to as the "child" in Article 26) who is under three years of age and for whom the insured was taking that childcare/parental leave, and the insured files a request with the implementing organization as provided for by order of the competent ministry through the employer of the place of business at which the insured is employed, the implementing organization revises the insured's standard amount of remuneration by regarding the amount arrived at when the total amount of remuneration during the three-month period beginning from the month in which the day following the childcare/parental leave end date falls (limited to a period during which the insured continues to be employed at the place of business at which the insured was employed on the day following the childcare/parental leave end date, and excluding any month which has fewer than seventeen days which forms the basis for payment of remuneration) is divided by the number of months in that period, as the insured's monthly remuneration; provided, however, that this does not apply to an insured who starts maternity leave as provided for in paragraph (1) of the following Article on the day following the childcare/parental leave end date.

A standard monthly remuneration that has been revised pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph is the standard monthly remuneration for each month during the period from the month following the month that contains the day that is calculated as falling two months after the day following the childcare/parental leave end date until August of that year (or until August of the following year, if the relevant following month is any month from July to December).

When the provisions of paragraph (1) are applied to a category II EPI insured or a category III EPI insured, the phrase "order of the competent ministry through the employer of the place of business at which the insured is employed" in that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with the phrase "order of the competent ministry".

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 21, if, on the day on which an insured's maternity leave (meaning non-engagement in work (but only if the insured is not working for reasons related to pregnancy or childbirth) for the period from 42 days (98 days in the case of a multiple pregnancy) before the day of childbirth (or before the due date, if the day of childbirth is after the due date) until 56 days following the date of childbirth; and, in the case of an insured who is a mariner (excluding a mariner who is a member of a national public service personnel mutual aid associations or a mutual aid association of local government officials; the same applies hereinafter), meaning not engaging in duties pursuant to the provisions of Article 87, paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of the Mariners Act; the same applies hereinafter) ends (hereinafter referred to as the "maternity leave end date" in this Article) the insured whose maternity leave has ended is raising the child for whom the insured was taking that maternity leave and files a request with an implementing organization as provided for by order of the competent ministry through the employer of the place of business at which the insured is employed, the implementing organization revises the insured's standard amount of remuneration by regarding the amount arrived at when the total amount of remuneration during the three-month period beginning from the month in which the day following the maternity leave end date falls (limited to a period during which the insured continues to be employed at the place of business at which the insured was employed on the day following the maternity leave end date, and excluding any month which has fewer than seventeen days which forms the basis for payment of remuneration) is divided by the number of months in that period, as the insured's monthly remuneration; provided, however, that this does not apply to an insured who starts childcare/parental leave on the day following the maternity leave end date.

A standard monthly remuneration that has been revised pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph is the standard monthly remuneration for each month during the period from the month following the month that contains the day that is calculated as falling two months after the day after the maternity leave end date until August of that year (or until August of the following year, if the relevant following month is any month from July to December).

When the provisions of paragraph (1) are applied to a category II EPI insured or a category III EPI insured, the phrase "order of the competent ministry through the employer of the place of business at which the insured is employed" in that paragraph is deemed to be the phrase "order of the competent ministry".

If it is difficult to calculate an insured's amount of monthly remuneration pursuant to the provisions of Article 21, paragraph (1), Article 22, paragraph (1), Article 23-2, paragraph (1), or paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, or if the amount calculated pursuant to the provisions of Article 21, paragraph (1), Article 22, paragraph (1), Article 23, paragraph (1), Article 23-2, paragraph (1), or paragraph (1) of the preceding Article is extremely unreasonable, the amount calculated by the implementing organization is the insured's amount of monthly remuneration, notwithstanding those provisions.

To calculate the amount of monthly remuneration for an insured who receives remuneration from two or more places of business at the same time, the person's amount of monthly remuneration is the total sum of the amounts added together, each of which has been first calculated, for each place of business, pursuant to the provisions of Article 21, paragraph (1), Article 22, paragraph (1), Article 23, paragraph (1), Article 23-2, paragraph (1), or paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, or pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.