国民年金法
No official English title
Japan's national pension (国民年金): who is insured — people living in Japan from 20 to 59, everyone in the Employees' Pension Insurance, and their dependent spouses aged 20 to 59 — what category 1 insured persons pay, and the basic pensions it pays in old age, on disability and on a death.
- Text in force since
- Promulgated
- Articles
- 266
- Amendments on the way
- 6
What this law does
- Category 1 insured persons (第1号被保険者) pay a contribution (保険料) for each month they are insured, due by the end of the following month. The Act sets a base monthly amount and multiplies it by a contribution revision rate (保険料改定率) that is revised every fiscal year, so the amount changes from year to year. A householder (世帯主) is jointly liable for the contributions of insured members of the household, and each spouse for the other's; category 2 and 3 insured persons pay no contribution under this Act, and the Government, as insurer of the Employees' Pension Insurance, and the three mutual aid bodies that act as its implementing bodies (実施機関たる共済組合等) pay a contribution (基礎年金拠出金) toward the cost of the basic pensions every year.(Art. 87(2), Art. 87(3), Art. 87(5), Art. 91(1), Art. 88(1), Art. 88(2), Art. 88(3), Art. 94-6(1), Art. 94-2(1), Art. 94-2(2), Art. 5(9)) (the provisions it rests on)
Read the full overview
- The old-age basic pension (老齢基礎年金) starts at 65 for someone whose paid and exempted months total at least 10 years; the periods counted toward eligibility only (合算対象期間) also count toward the 10 years — including periods in which they were eligible to join voluntarily, other than paid months and months from age 60, category 2 months before 20 and from 60, and further periods the supplementary provisions of Act No. 34 of 1985 list. The full amount — a base the Act sets, revised every year by a revision rate (改定率) — goes to someone with 480 paid months (保険料納付済期間), which include category 2 and 3 months other than those; with fewer, it is reduced in proportion, exempted months counting as a fraction of a paid month and months under the student special payment or a postponement not counting toward the amount at all. For the time being, someone aged 60 to 64 who is not a voluntary member can instead claim it early at an amount reduced by a Cabinet Order (政令), together with any early claim open to them under the Employees' Pension Insurance Act; and someone who has not claimed it before 66 and was not entitled at 65, or did not become entitled between 65 and 66, to certain other pensions can defer it for an amount increased by a Cabinet Order, a deferral counting from 75 at the latest.(Art. 26(1), Art. 27(1), Art. 27(1)(viii), Art. 27-2(2), Art. 5(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 8(4), Suppl. Prov. Art. 8(5), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-2(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-2(2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-2(3), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-2(4), Art. 28(1), Art. 28(2), Art. 28(4), Suppl. Prov. Art. 14(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A disability basic pension (障害基礎年金) is paid to someone who, on the day they first saw a doctor for the illness or injury (初診日), was insured — or was a former insured person living in Japan aged 60 to 64 — and who, 18 months later or when the condition is cured or stops improving before then, is disabled to grade 1 or 2 as a Cabinet Order describes the grades; grade 1 pays 125% of the grade 2 amount. It is not paid if, on the day before that first visit, the paid and exempted months are less than two-thirds of the insured months up to two months before it — though, for a first visit before 1 April 2036 by someone under 65, it is enough that the year up to two months before it (for someone not insured that day, their last year of insured months) holds no month that is neither paid nor exempted. Someone first seen by a doctor before 20 gets it without these contribution conditions if disabled to grade 1 or 2 on reaching 20, or on the recognition date if that is later, but it is stopped wholly or by half while their previous year's income is above a Cabinet Order limit, and wholly while they have no address in Japan, among other cases.(Art. 30(1), Art. 30(2), Art. 33(2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 20(1), Art. 30-4(1), Art. 36-2(1), Art. 36-3(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Someone who met the first-visit conditions but was not disabled to grade 1 or 2 on the recognition date can claim the disability basic pension if the condition reaches those grades later, before they turn 65, on the same contribution conditions; so can someone whose disability reaches those grades only when combined with an earlier one, before 65, and in both cases it is paid from the month after the claim. The pension is stopped while its holder is no longer disabled to grade 1 or 2. It ends when the holder is both 65 or over and has gone three years without being in the disability grades of the Employees' Pension Insurance Act, a separate Act.(Art. 30-2(1), Art. 30-2(2), Art. 30-2(3), Art. 30-3(1), Art. 30-3(3), Art. 18(1), Art. 36(2), Art. 35(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A survivors' basic pension (遺族基礎年金) is paid on the death of an insured person, of a former insured person living in Japan aged 60 to 64, or of someone with at least 25 years of paid and exempted months (other periods a supplementary provision lists can make up the 25); for the first two, the disability pension's contribution conditions apply to the deceased, the one-year rule reaching deaths before 1 April 2036 at an age under 65. It goes to the deceased's spouse or child who was supported by them at the death: a spouse who shares a livelihood (生計を同じくする) with such a child, and a child who is unmarried and has not passed the first 31 March falling on or after the day before their 18th birthday, or is under 20 with a grade 1 or 2 disability. "Spouse" includes a partner in a de facto marriage that was never registered.(Art. 37(1), Art. 37-2(1), Art. 5(7), Suppl. Prov. Art. 20(2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A widow's pension (寡婦年金) — three-quarters of what the husband's old-age basic pension would have been on his category 1 months — is paid from 60 until 65 to a wife whose husband dies with at least 10 years of category 1 paid and exempted months, if he supported her and their marriage, registered or de facto, had lasted at least 10 years, but not if he had ever received an old-age or disability basic pension. A lump-sum death payment (死亡一時金) of 120,000 to 320,000 yen, by the number of months, goes to the spouse, child, parent, grandchild, grandparent or sibling, in that order, who shared a livelihood with someone who dies with at least 36 months of category 1 contributions (partly exempted months at a fraction) and had never received an old-age or disability basic pension; as a rule it is not paid when someone can receive a survivors' basic pension for the death. Someone who could receive both chooses one.(Art. 49(1), Art. 49(3), Art. 50(1), Art. 51(1), Art. 52-2(1), Art. 52-2(2), Art. 52-3(1), Art. 52-3(2), Art. 52-4(1), Art. 52-6(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- As a rule one pension is paid at a time: a pension under this Act is stopped while its holder can receive another pension under this Act, or an Employees' Pension Insurance pension paid for a different reason, and the holder can apply to have the stop lifted on the one they choose instead. For someone 65 or over, an old-age basic pension is not stopped because of an Employees' Pension Insurance survivors' pension, and a disability basic pension is not stopped because of any Employees' Pension Insurance pension; the supplementary pension (付加年金) is never stopped this way.(Art. 20(1), Art. 20(2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-2-4(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Until the change takes effect, 19 June 2029 at the latest: A person without Japanese nationality who is no longer insured, has at least six months of category 1 contributions (partly exempted months counting at a fraction), and whose paid and exempted months, together with the periods counted toward eligibility only (合算対象期間), fall short of the 10 years the old-age basic pension needs — or who is in a similar position a Cabinet Order describes — can claim a lump-sum withdrawal payment (脱退一時金). They cannot claim while they have an address (住所) in Japan, if they have ever been entitled to a disability basic pension or another benefit a Cabinet Order names, or once two years have passed since they last lost insured status — or, if they still lived in Japan that day, since they first stopped living in Japan after it. These rules apply until a day a Cabinet Order sets, no later than 19 June 2029, when the rules below replace them.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(1)(i), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(1)(ii), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(1)(iii), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 1(1)(xii)) (the provisions it rests on)
- From a day still to be set, 19 June 2029 at the latest: From a day a Cabinet Order sets, no later than 19 June 2029, a person without Japanese nationality who is no longer insured, has at least six months of category 1 contributions (partly exempted months counting at a fraction), and whose paid and exempted months, together with the periods counted toward eligibility only (合算対象期間), fall short of the 10 years the old-age basic pension needs — or who is in a similar position a Cabinet Order describes — can claim a lump-sum withdrawal payment (脱退一時金). They cannot claim while they are staying in Japan or hold a re-entry permit (再入国許可) under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, including one that Act treats as granted; if they have ever been entitled to a disability basic pension or another benefit a Cabinet Order names; or once two years have passed since they last lost insured status — or, if on that day they were in Japan or held a re-entry permit, since they first ceased to be either. These bars apply to claims made from that day on, except that someone already 60 or over on that day keeps the earlier rules: a re-entry permit does not bar the claim, and the two years run from the day they stopped living in Japan.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(1)(i), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(1)(ii), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(1)(iii), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(1)(iv), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 1(1)(xii), Suppl. Prov. Art. 8(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 8(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Until 30 September 2026: The lump-sum withdrawal payment is half the monthly contribution for the fiscal year of the most recent category 1 month for which a contribution was actually paid by the day before the claim, multiplied by a number a Cabinet Order sets according to the months counted (partly exempted months at a fraction); the Act leaves that number to the Cabinet Order. Once it has been paid, the category 1 months it was based on are treated as if the person had never been insured.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(3), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
- From 1 October 2026: The lump-sum withdrawal payment is half the monthly contribution for the fiscal year of the most recent of the person's category 1 paid or partly exempted months before the month of the claim, multiplied by a number a Cabinet Order sets according to the months counted (partly exempted months at a fraction); the Act leaves that number to the Cabinet Order. Once it has been paid, the category 1 months it was based on are treated as if the person had never been insured.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(3), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
Who is insuredContributionsContribution exemptionsOld-age basic pensionDisability basic pensionSurvivors' basic pensionLump-sum withdrawal paymentAppeals
Contents
266 1744 773 160 365
- Chapter I General Provisions第一章 総則Articles 1–6 · 8
- Chapter II Insured Persons第二章 被保険者Articles 7–14-5 · 14
- Chapter III Benefits第三章 給付Articles 15–73 · 69
- Section 1 Common Provisions第一節 通則Articles 15–25 · 17
- Section 2 Old-age Basic Pension第二節 老齢基礎年金Articles 26–29 · 8
- Section 3 Disability Basic Pension第三節 障害基礎年金Articles 30–36-4 · 14
- Section 4 Survivors' Basic Pension第四節 遺族基礎年金Articles 37–42 · 9
- Section 5 Additional Pension, Widow's Pension, and Death Lump-Sum Payment第五節 付加年金、寡婦年金及び死亡一時金Articles 43–53 · 16
- Subsection 1 Additional Pension第一款 付加年金Articles 43–48 · 6
- Subsection 2 Widow's Pension第二款 寡婦年金Articles 49–52 · 4
- Subsection 3 Death Lump-Sum Payment第三款 死亡一時金Articles 52-2–53 · 6
- Section 6 Restriction of Benefits第六節 給付の制限Articles 69–73 · 5
- Chapter IV Measures for Ensuring the Smooth Implementation of the National Pension Program第四章 国民年金事業の円滑な実施を図るための措置Article 74
- Chapter V Investment of the Reserve Fund第五章 積立金の運用Articles 75–81 · 7
- Chapter VI Expenses第六章 費用Articles 85–99 · 31
- Chapter VII Appeal第七章 不服申立てArticles 101–101-2 · 2
- Chapter VIII Miscellaneous Provisions第八章 雑則Articles 102–110 · 29
- Chapter IX Penal Provisions第九章 罰則Articles 111–114 · 9
- Chapter X National Pension Funds and the National Pension Fund Association第十章 国民年金基金及び国民年金基金連合会Articles 115–148 · 96
- Section 1 National Pension Funds第一節 国民年金基金Articles 115–137-3-16 · 57
- Subsection 1 Common Provisions第一款 通則Articles 115–118-2 · 6
- Subsection 2 Establishment第二款 設立Articles 119–119-5 · 5
- Subsection 3 Administration第三款 管理Articles 120–126 · 10
- Subsection 4 Members第四款 加入員Articles 127–127-2 · 2
- Subsection 5 Operations of a National Pension Fund第五款 基金の行う業務Articles 128–133 · 8
- Subsection 6 Bearing of Expenses第六款 費用の負担Articles 134–134-2 · 2
- Subsection 7 Dissolution and Liquidation第七款 解散及び清算Articles 135–137-2-4 · 8
- Subsection 8 Merger and Split第八款 合併及び分割Articles 137-3–137-3-16 · 16
- Division 1 Merger第一目 合併Articles 137-3–137-3-6 · 6
- Division 2 Split第二目 分割Articles 137-3-7–137-3-12 · 6
- Division 3 Miscellaneous Provisions第三目 雑則Articles 137-3-13–137-3-16 · 4
- Section 2 National Pension Fund Association第二節 国民年金基金連合会Articles 137-4–137-24 · 26
- Subsection 1 Common Provisions第一款 通則Articles 137-4–137-4-3 · 3
- Subsection 2 Establishment第二款 設立Articles 137-5–137-7 · 3
- Subsection 3 Administration and Members第三款 管理及び会員Articles 137-8–137-14 · 10
- Subsection 4 Operations Conducted by the National Pension Fund Association第四款 連合会の行う業務Articles 137-15–137-21 · 7
- Subsection 5 Dissolution and Liquidation第五款 解散及び清算Articles 137-22–137-24 · 3
- Section 3 Miscellaneous Provisions第三節 雑則Articles 138–142-2 · 7
- Section 4 Penal Provisions第四節 罰則Articles 143–148 · 6
Amendments
A Japanese law is changed by another law or order that rewrites it — an . This law has 6 amendments on the way — , but . Its amendment history is below. The amendments this site has read the changes of are on this law's amendments page, provision by provision, in Japanese and English.
1 October 2026
in 4 days
Act Partially Amending the Act on Support for Children and Child-rearing, etc.
子ども・子育て支援法等の一部を改正する法律
1 October 2026
in 4 days
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc., and Other Matters, to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System in Light of Socioeconomic Changes
社会経済の変化を踏まえた年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する等の法律
1 October 2027
in 12 months
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc., and Other Matters, to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System in Light of Socioeconomic Changes
社会経済の変化を踏まえた年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する等の法律
Date not yet set
Not yet in force
Act on the Arrangement, etc. of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act on Security Assignment Contracts and Retention of Title Contracts
譲渡担保契約及び所有権留保契約に関する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律
On the day Act No. 56 of 2025 (譲渡担保契約及び所有権留保契約に関する法律) . The exact day is not fixed yet.
1 April 2028
in 2 years
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc., and Other Matters, to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System in Light of Socioeconomic Changes
社会経済の変化を踏まえた年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する等の法律
By 19 June 2029
at the latest, in 3 years
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc., and Other Matters, to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System in Light of Socioeconomic Changes
社会経済の変化を踏まえた年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する等の法律
On a day set by , no later than 19 June 2029 — the amending law allows up to four years from . The exact day is not fixed yet.
34 amendments already in force
25 May 2026
The text on this site
Act on the Promotion of Business Financing, etc.
事業性融資の推進等に関する法律
1 April 2026
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc., and Other Matters, to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System in Light of Socioeconomic Changes
社会経済の変化を踏まえた年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する等の法律
1 December 2025
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc., and Other Matters, to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System in Light of Socioeconomic Changes
社会経済の変化を踏まえた年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する等の法律
20 June 2025
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc., and Other Matters, to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System in Light of Socioeconomic Changes
社会経済の変化を踏まえた年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する等の法律
6 June 2025
Act on the Arrangement, etc. of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act on Security Assignment Contracts and Retention of Title Contracts
譲渡担保契約及び所有権留保契約に関する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律
1 June 2025
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.
刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律
2 December 2024
Act Partially Amending the Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify a Specific Individual in Administrative Procedures, etc.
行政手続における特定の個人を識別するための番号の利用等に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律
1 October 2024
Act Partially Amending the Act on Support for Children and Child-rearing, etc.
子ども・子育て支援法等の一部を改正する法律
14 June 2024
Act on the Promotion of Business Financing, etc.
事業性融資の推進等に関する法律
12 June 2024
Act Partially Amending the Act on Support for Children and Child-rearing, etc.
子ども・子育て支援法等の一部を改正する法律
1 January 2024
Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.
所得税法等の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2023
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc. to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System
年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2023
Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.
所得税法等の一部を改正する法律
17 June 2022
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.
刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律
1 April 2022
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc. to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System
年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する法律
1 September 2021
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts for the Formation of a Digital Society
デジタル社会の形成を図るための関係法律の整備に関する法律
1 August 2021
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc. to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System
年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する法律
19 May 2021
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts for the Formation of a Digital Society
デジタル社会の形成を図るための関係法律の整備に関する法律
1 April 2021
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc. to Improve the Sustainability of the Public Pension System
公的年金制度の持続可能性の向上を図るための国民年金法等の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2021
Act Partially Amending the Health Insurance Act, etc. to Ensure the Proper and Efficient Administration of the Medical Insurance System
医療保険制度の適正かつ効率的な運営を図るための健康保険法等の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2021
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc. to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System
年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する法律
1 January 2021
Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.
所得税法等の一部を改正する法律
5 June 2020
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc. to Strengthen the Functions of the Pension System
年金制度の機能強化のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2020
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code
民法の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律
1 April 2020
Act Partially Amending the Health Insurance Act, etc. to Ensure the Proper and Efficient Administration of the Medical Insurance System
医療保険制度の適正かつ効率的な運営を図るための健康保険法等の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2020
Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.
所得税法等の一部を改正する法律
22 May 2019
Act Partially Amending the Health Insurance Act, etc. to Ensure the Proper and Efficient Administration of the Medical Insurance System
医療保険制度の適正かつ効率的な運営を図るための健康保険法等の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2019
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc. to Improve the Sustainability of the Public Pension System
公的年金制度の持続可能性の向上を図るための国民年金法等の一部を改正する法律
25 May 2018
Act Partially Amending the Act on the Abolition, etc. of the Mutual Aid Association Act for Employees of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Organizations, etc. to Integrate the Employees' Pension Insurance System and the Mutual Aid Association System for Employees of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Organizations
厚生年金保険制度及び農林漁業団体職員共済組合制度の統合を図るための農林漁業団体職員共済組合法等を廃止する等の法律の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2018
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc. to Improve the Sustainability of the Public Pension System
公的年金制度の持続可能性の向上を図るための国民年金法等の一部を改正する法律
1 January 2018
Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc., and Other Matters
所得税法等の一部を改正する等の法律
1 August 2017
Act Partially Amending the National Pension Act, etc. to Strengthen, etc. the Financial Basis and Minimum Guarantee Function of the Public Pension System
公的年金制度の財政基盤及び最低保障機能の強化等のための国民年金法等の一部を改正する法律
2 June 2017
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code
民法の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律
1 April 2017
Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc., and Other Matters
所得税法等の一部を改正する等の法律
Who it applies to
It applies to
- Category 1 insured persons (第1号被保険者): people aged 20 to 59 with an address (住所) in Japan who are neither category 2 nor category 3; the article sets no condition of nationality. They become insured on turning 20, coming to live in Japan, or ceasing to be excluded, and stop being insured on death, on ceasing to live in Japan (the day after), on reaching 60, or on becoming able to receive an old-age benefit under the Employees' Pension Insurance Act, unless they then fall into category 2 or 3. They must notify the mayor of their municipality (市町村長) when they become or stop being insured, change category, or change name or address; a moving notification under the Residential Basic Book Act (住民基本台帳法) counts as that notification when the annotation that Act provides for is made on it.(Art. 7(1)(i), Art. 8(1), Art. 9(1), Art. 9(1)(iv), Art. 12(1), Art. 12(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Category 2 insured persons (第2号被保険者): everyone insured under the Employees' Pension Insurance (厚生年金保険), which a separate Act governs, with no age range, except that, for the time being, from 65 only those without the right to a benefit a Cabinet Order names under that Act.(Art. 7(1)(ii), Suppl. Prov. Art. 3(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
4 more
- Category 3 insured persons (第3号被保険者): the spouse of a category 2 insured person, aged 20 to 59, who is mainly supported by that person's income, as a Cabinet Order's criteria decide, and who has an address in Japan — or, like a student studying abroad, is found under a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order to have the base of their life in Japan. They notify the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, as a rule through their spouse's employer or mutual aid association. Months before a late notification count as paid only for the two years before it, unless the delay had an unavoidable reason and they notify the Minister of it.(Art. 7(1)(iii), Art. 7(2), Art. 12(5), Art. 12(6), Suppl. Prov. Art. 7-3(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 7-3(2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 7-3(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Voluntary insured persons (任意加入被保険者): people who are not category 2 or 3 can join by applying to the Minister if they live in Japan and are 20 to 59 and can receive an old-age benefit under the Employees' Pension Insurance Act, or live in Japan and are 60 to 64 — in both cases unless a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order excludes them, and applying at the same time to pay by bank transfer (口座振替納付) or showing a reason that Order accepts for not doing so — or are Japanese nationals, or others a Cabinet Order names, living abroad aged 20 to 64. They owe contributions like any insured person, but none of the exemptions in Articles 88-2 to 90-3 applies to them. They may leave at any time on request, and leave at 65, when their counted months reach 480, or on the other events the provision lists — among them, for those in Japan, not paying overdue contributions by a demand letter's deadline, and for those abroad, two years of unpaid contributions.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 5(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 5(2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 5(4), Suppl. Prov. Art. 5(5), Suppl. Prov. Art. 5(6)(iv), Suppl. Prov. Art. 5(7), Suppl. Prov. Art. 5(8)(iv), Suppl. Prov. Art. 5(10), Art. 88(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Householders (世帯主) and spouses: a householder is jointly liable for the contributions of an insured member of the household, and a spouse for the other spouse's, and a householder may make an insured person's notifications for them. Whoever must report a death under the Family Register Act (戸籍法) must also notify the death of an insured person or pensioner, unless a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order excuses it where the death was reported under that Act.(Art. 88(2), Art. 88(3), Art. 12(2), Art. 105(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
- National Pension Funds (国民年金基金): corporate bodies that category 1 insured persons may join by applying — other than those exempted from contributions, those insured under the farmers' pension (農業者年金), and members of another fund — and that voluntary members abroad or aged 60 to 64 may join too; members pay the fund's own contributions (掛金) for a pension from the fund and a lump sum on their death. The Act governs how the funds and their federation are set up and run, and places them under the Minister's supervision.(Art. 115(1), Art. 116(1), Art. 117(1), Art. 127(1), Art. 128(1), Art. 134(1), Art. 137-4(1), Art. 142(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 5(11)) (the provisions it rests on)
It does not apply to
- From category 1: people who can receive an old-age or retirement benefit under the Employees' Pension Insurance Act or another a Cabinet Order lists, and people a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order names as having a special reason to be outside this Act. That Order can also name people with such a reason who are then not category 3 insured persons.(Art. 7(1)(i), Art. 7(1)(iii)) (the provisions it rests on)
Special rules and exceptions (8)
- An insured person who is entitled to a disability basic pension or another disability benefit a Cabinet Order lists (except some who have long been out of the disability grades), who receives livelihood assistance under the Public Assistance Act (生活保護法), a separate Act, or who lives in a facility a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order names owes no contributions from the month before this began to the month it ends. These are fully exempted months, and the person may still choose to pay for them.(Art. 89(1), Art. 89(2), Art. 5(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
- On application, the Minister may excuse a category 1 insured person from contributions for a period the Minister specifies, leaving out months in which they are or were a student (full exemption), where the applicant, the householder and the spouse each meet one of the conditions the article lists — chiefly, previous year's income at or below a limit a Cabinet Order sets according to dependants, or a natural disaster or other reason a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order names that makes paying very hard; students use the student special payment instead. Contributions excused under Article 89, this full exemption, the partial exemptions (where the remainder was paid), the student special payment or a postponement can be paid afterwards (追納) for up to 10 years back, with the Minister's approval and an added amount a Cabinet Order sets, by anyone not yet entitled to the old-age basic pension.(Art. 90(1), Art. 94(1), Art. 94(3), Suppl. Prov. Art. 14(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
- The Minister may instead excuse three-quarters, half or a quarter of the contribution, on the same kind of application and conditions, with an income limit for each set by a Cabinet Order; the months count as partly exempted only if the remaining part is paid.(Art. 90-2(1), Art. 90-2(2), Art. 90-2(3), Art. 5(4), Art. 5(5), Art. 5(6)) (the provisions it rests on)
- On the application of a student (学生等) at a high school, university or other school a Cabinet Order lists, the Minister may excuse their contributions for their student months if their own previous year's income is at or below a Cabinet Order limit, or on the full exemption's other grounds: the student special payment (学生納付特例), with no condition on the householder or spouse. Those months count toward the qualifying periods for the pensions, but not toward the amount of the old-age basic pension unless they are paid later (追納).(Art. 90-3(1), Art. 109-2-2(1), Art. 5(3), Art. 26(1), Art. 27(1)(viii), Art. 94(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Until June 2035, on the application of a category 1 insured person under 50 who is not a student, the Minister may excuse their contributions — a postponement (納付猶予) — if their own and their spouse's circumstances meet an income limit a Cabinet Order sets or the full exemption's other grounds; the householder's do not count. Those months are treated as student special payment months: counted toward the qualifying periods, not toward the amount unless paid later. The rule is in supplementary provisions (附則) of Act No. 104 of 2004 and Act No. 64 of 2014, which amended this Act.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 19(2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 19(4), Suppl. Prov. Art. 14(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 14(3), Suppl. Prov. Art. 15(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- An insured person owes no contributions from the month before the month of expected childbirth (three months before, for a multiple pregnancy) to the second month after it, and these months count as paid months.(Art. 88-2(1), Art. 5(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- From 1 October 2026: An insured person who had the childbirth exemption and is raising the child owes no contributions from the month in which three months have passed since the expected birth date to the month before the one in which twelve months have passed. Another insured person raising their child — including a child they have asked the family court to adopt by special adoption, or one placed with them as a prospective adoptive foster parent — owes none from the month they begin raising the child to the month before the month in which the child turns one; either period ends early if they stop raising the child, and the months count as paid months. This applies to contributions for October 2026 onward.(Art. 88-3(1), Art. 88-3(2), Art. 5(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 10(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Someone who has claimed the old-age basic pension early can no longer get a disability basic pension as a former insured person aged 60 to 64, or under the rules for a disability that reaches grade 1 or 2 only later, cannot get a widow's pension (寡婦年金), and cannot join voluntarily.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-2-3(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
How it is enforced (8)
- The Government runs the national pension; the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare decides each claim to a benefit (裁定) and keeps the national pension record (国民年金原簿), with much of the work — taking notifications, claims and applications, and collecting contributions — done by the Japan Pension Service (日本年金機構). Anyone insured now or before who thinks their record of joining, leaving, category or contributions is wrong or missing can ask the Minister to correct it, and the Minister decides after consulting the Social Security Council (社会保障審議会).(Art. 3(1), Art. 16(1), Art. 14(1), Art. 109-4(1), Art. 109-10(1), Art. 14-2(1), Art. 14-4(1), Art. 14-4(2), Art. 14-4(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
- When contributions or other amounts due under the Act go unpaid, the Minister may send a demand letter (督促状) with a deadline at least 10 days after it is sent, and, if they are still unpaid by then, collect them by the procedure for delinquent national taxes (国税滞納処分) or ask the municipality where the person lives or has property to do so. A late-payment charge (延滞金) runs from the day after the due date at 14.6% a year — 7.3% for the first three months of an unpaid contribution — except on amounts under 500 yen, where there were unavoidable circumstances, or where the amount is paid in full by the demand letter's deadline. A supplementary provision of the Act lowers both rates in any year in which the special base rate for delinquency tax (延滞税特例基準割合) under the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation, a separate Act, is below 7.3%: to that rate plus 7.3%, and to that rate plus 1% (at most 7.3%).(Art. 96(1), Art. 96(2), Art. 96(3), Art. 96(4), Art. 97(1), Art. 97(4), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-2-5(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- The right to collect contributions, or to have them refunded, expires two years after it can first be exercised, and a demand letter restarts that period; the right to a lump-sum death payment (死亡一時金) also expires after two years. The right to a pension expires five years after the event that gives rise to it, and each payment five years after the first day of the month following its payment month; the five years on the right to the pension itself do not run while the pension is wholly stopped.(Art. 102(1), Art. 102(2), Art. 102(4), Art. 102(5)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Where needed for a decision on insured status or contributions, the Minister may order insured persons to hand in documents, such as those on their own, their spouse's or their householder's assets or income, have officials question them, and ask public offices, banks, employers and others for records and reports about them. The Minister may order pensioners to hand in documents or answer questions, and may order a disability basic pensioner, or a child whose pension or pension addition turns on a disability, to be examined by a doctor the Minister designates; pensioners, and their householder and other household members, must also report what a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order (厚生労働省令) requires. A pension can be stopped in whole or in part for refusing such an order, question or examination without good reason, and its payment held back for failing to report or hand in documents without good reason.(Art. 106(1), Art. 108(1), Art. 108(2), Art. 107(1), Art. 107(2), Art. 105(3), Art. 72(1), Art. 73(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- From anyone who has obtained a benefit — the lump-sum withdrawal payment included — by deception or other wrongful means, the Minister may collect all or part of what they received, and obtaining it so is punishable by imprisonment (拘禁刑) of up to three years or a fine of up to 1 million yen, unless the Penal Code (刑法) punishes the act. A disability caused on purpose earns no disability basic pension, and someone who kills an insured person on purpose gets no survivors' basic pension, widow's pension or death payment for that death. For a disability or death caused by a deliberate crime or gross negligence, or by refusing medical instructions without good reason, a benefit may be withheld in whole or in part.(Art. 23(1), Art. 111(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(7), Art. 69(1), Art. 70(1), Art. 71(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- An insured person who makes a false notification of joining, leaving, change of category, name or address, a householder who makes one for them, and an insured person who disobeys an order to hand in documents on assets or income, or who refuses to answer or answers falsely, faces imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to 300,000 yen. Failing to make such a notification at all is punishable by a fine of up to 300,000 yen, unless the householder made it. Failing to make, or falsifying, the other notifications the Act requires of insured persons, and failing to notify a death, is subject to a non-criminal fine (過料) of up to 100,000 yen.(Art. 112(1), Art. 113(1), Art. 114(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A right to a benefit cannot be transferred, pledged as security or seized, except that an old-age basic pension or a supplementary pension can be seized in a procedure for delinquent national taxes (国税滞納処分). No tax or other public levy may be charged on money paid as a benefit, apart from the old-age basic pension and the supplementary pension.(Art. 24(1), Art. 25(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A decision on insured status, on a benefit, or on contributions or other amounts collected can be challenged by a request for review (審査請求) to a social insurance examiner (社会保険審査官), and the examiner's decision by a request for re-examination (再審査請求) to the Social Insurance Appeal Board (社会保険審査会); if the examiner has not decided within two months, the request may be treated as rejected. A court action to cancel a decision on insured status or on a benefit can be brought only after the examiner has decided. Decisions on the lump-sum withdrawal payment are challenged directly before the Appeal Board, and decisions on a request to correct the pension record are not challenged this way.(Art. 101(1), Art. 101(2), Art. 101-2(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(5), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9-3-2(6)) (the provisions it rests on)
How it connects to other laws
Cites this lawLawThis law cites it
It also names 65 laws not yet held here.
Where the translation comes from
- 2,160
- 1,088not translated
The Ministry of Justice's translation is shown only where the Japanese it translates matches the law in force today. Everywhere else the English is a machine translation, marked on the paragraph itself.
Only the Japanese is the law, and no lawyer has reviewed the machine translation.
Sources
Everything this page rests on
- e-Gov (Digital Agency)国民年金法 — the text in force from 2026-05-25Original
- e-Gov (Digital Agency)国民年金法 — revision historyOriginal
- Machine translation, not official
- Written for this site with AIEnglish titles of amending laws, written for this site
- Written for this site with AIDescriptions of each law, written for this site
- Worked out by this site from e-Gov's text