Employees' Pension Insurance Act

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 21 through the preceding Article, decisions on and revisions to the standard monthly remuneration of an insured who is a mariner are governed by the provisions of Articles 17 through 20 and Article 23 of the Mariners Insurance Act.

Beyond as provided for in Articles 21 through 24, Cabinet Order provides for the necessary particulars in connection with the calculation of the standardized monthly remuneration.

In months when an insured receives a bonus, the implementing organization decides the standardized amount of the bonus for that month based on the amount of the bonus that the relevant insured received that month, by rounding down to the nearest thousand. In such a case, if the standardized amount of the bonus exceeds 1,500,000 yen (or the amount specified by Cabinet Order, if the classification has been revised for the standard monthly remuneration pursuant to the provisions of Article 20, paragraph (2); the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph), the amount is 1,500,000 yen.

The provisions of Article 24 apply mutatis mutandis to the calculation of the standardized amount of a bonus.

If the whole or a part of remuneration or bonuses are paid in anything other than money, the value thereof is established by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare according to the market value in that locality.

If an insured or a former insured who is or was raising a child under 3 years of age files a request with the implementing organization (for a current insured, through the employer of the place of business at which the insured is employed) as specified by order of the competent ministry, the person's standard monthly remuneration for the month before the month that includes the day on which the person began to raise the child (or, if the person is not an insured in the month in question, the standard monthly remuneration for the most recent month in which the person was an insured within the one year prior to the month in question; either the month in question or this most recent month is hereinafter referred to in this Article as the "base month") is deemed to be the standard monthly remuneration that forms the basis for calculating the average standardized monthly amount of remuneration under Article 43, paragraph (1) for any month in which the person's standard monthly remuneration falls below the standard monthly remuneration for the base month (or below the standard monthly remuneration for the base month connected with a child other than the child in question, if that standardized monthly amount is deemed to be the standard monthly remuneration that forms the basis for the calculation mentioned above pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph; any standardized monthly amount deemed to be the standard monthly remuneration that forms the basis for the calculation mentioned above is referred to as the "previous standardized monthly amount of remuneration" in this paragraph), among the months during the period of time from the month that includes the day on which the person started to raise that child (or the day on which any fact provided for by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has arisen) until the month before the month that includes the day following the date of an event that falls under one of the following items (if any of the months in which the standard monthly remuneration falls below the previous standardized monthly amount of remuneration are months preceding the month that includes the day on which the relevant request was filed, these are limited to months that fall within the two-year period before the month including the day on which the relevant request was filed).

the child in question reaches 3 years of age;

the insured comes to fall under one of the items of Article 14;

the insured has begun to raise a child other than the child in question in a case in which the provisions of this Article are applied for a child other than the child in question, or any other event provided for by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as a fact equivalent thereto arises;

the child dies or the insured has otherwise ceased to raise the child; or

the insured starts childcare/parental leave to which the provisions of Article 81-2, paragraph (1) apply; or

the insured starts maternity leave to which the provisions of Article 81-2-2, paragraph (1) apply.

Cabinet Order provides for revisions to the amount of pension insurance benefits based on application of the provisions of the preceding paragraph and provides for any other necessary particulars in connection with the application of the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

To apply paragraph (1) to a person who falls under the provisions of paragraph (1), item (6) (other than if, pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph, the standard monthly remuneration in the base month connected with a child other than the relevant child is deemed to be the standard monthly remuneration), the phrase "or below the standard monthly remuneration for the base month connected with a child other than the child in question, if that standardized monthly amount is deemed to be the standard monthly remuneration that forms the basis for the calculation mentioned above pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph; any standardized monthly amount deemed to be the standard monthly remuneration that forms the basis for the calculation mentioned above is referred to as the "previous standardized monthly amount of remuneration" in this paragraph" in that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "or below the standard monthly remuneration for the month that would be the deemed base month if the standard monthly remuneration in the base month connected with a child other than the child in question would be deemed, pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph, to be the standard monthly remuneration for the calculation mentioned above in the event that the provisions of item (6) were not applied; any standardized monthly amount that is deemed, or would be deemed, to be the standard monthly remuneration that forms the basis for the calculation mentioned above is referred to as the "previous standardized monthly amount of remuneration" in this paragraph".

When the provisions of paragraph (1) are applied to a person who is or was a category II EPI insured or a person who is or was a category III EPI insured, the phrase "a request with the implementing organization (for an insured, through the employer of the place of business at which the insured is employed)" in that paragraph is deemed to be the phrase "a request with the implementing organization".

As prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, an employer with an applicable place of business or an employer who has given consent under Article 10, paragraph (2) (hereinafter simply referred to as the "employer", except in Article 100, paragraphs (1) and (4), Article 102, paragraph (2), and Article 103) must file notifications with the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare regarding the particulars of employees' acquisition and forfeiture of status as insureds (including former insureds ages 70 years and older who satisfy the requirements prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as persons employed at that applicable place of business; hereinafter such a person is referred to as an "employed person age 70 or over") (for an employed person age 70 or over, acquisition refers to the date on which the requirements prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare came to be applicable, and forfeiture refers to the date on which the requirements ceased to be applicable), as well as their amounts of monthly remuneration and the amounts of their bonuses.

The implementing organization must prepare a register for insureds, and must record each insured's full name, dates of acquisition and forfeiture of the status as an insured, standardized remuneration (meaning the standard monthly remuneration and the standard bonus amounts; the same applies hereinafter), basic pension number (meaning the national pension number provided for in Article 14 of the National Pension Act), and other particulars prescribed by order of the competent ministry.

If a person who is or was a category I EPI insured considers a specific record regarding that person that has been recorded in the register referred to in the preceding Article (hereinafter referred to as the "EPI register") (a "specific EPI register record" means the substance of the dates of acquisition and forfeiture of status as a category I EPI insured, standardized remuneration, or any other particular specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; hereinafter the same applies in this paragraph) to be non-factual, or thinks that a specific EPI register record for that person has not been recorded in the EPI register, the person may request the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare to correct the EPI register, pursuant to the provisions of Order of Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must formulate a policy on correcting the EPI register as per requests under the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article (including as applied mutatis mutandis in paragraph (2) and paragraph (3) of that Article) (that request is referred to as a "correction request" in the following Article).

Before seeking to formulate or modify the policy referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must first consult with the Social Security Council.

On finding that there are grounds for a correction request, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must reach the decision to make the correction to the EPI register to which the correction request pertains.

If not reaching the decision under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must reach the decision not to make the correction to the EPI register to which the correction request pertains.

Before seeking to reach a decision under the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must first consult with the Social Security Council.

Having been notified as referred to in the preceding paragraph, an employer must promptly notify the insureds or former insureds.

If an insured has forfeited status as an insured but it is not possible to notify the person pursuant to the preceding paragraph because the person's whereabouts are unknown, the employer must file a notification of this with the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Having received a notification as referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must give public notice of the particulars of which the minister notified the employer pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) regarding the person whose whereabouts are unknown.

If it is not possible to notify an employer pursuant to paragraph (1) because the place of business has been closed or due to other compelling reasons, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must give public notice of the particulars of which the employer is to be notified, in lieu of notifying the employer as under that paragraph.

If a notification has been submitted pursuant to the provisions of Article 27, but the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds that a thing to which the notification pertains is not a fact, the Minister must notify the employer that submitted the notification of this.

The provisions of paragraphs (2) through (5) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the notice referred to in the preceding paragraph.

An insured or former insured may, at any time, request a confirmation as under the provisions of Article 18, paragraph (1).

If a request under the provisions of the preceding paragraph has been made but the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds that a thing to which the request pertains is not a fact, the Minister must dismiss that request.

In order to promote the people's understanding of the employees' pension insurance system and enhance their trust in it, the implementing organization, as prescribed by order of the competent ministry, is to notify insureds of the necessary information regarding the insurance premiums they have actually paid and their future benefits in an easy-to-understand manner.

The provisions of this Section (excluding Article 28 and the preceding Article) do not apply to a person who is or was a category II EPI insured, a person who is or was a category III EPI insured, or a person who is or was a category IV EPI insured, and any employer of these persons.