National Pension Act

A person who falls under any of the following items is an insured person of the National Pension.

A person who has a domicile in Japan and is 20 years of age or older but under 60 years of age, and who does not fall under either the following item or item (iii) (excluding a person who is able to receive an insurance benefit that is a pension whose ground for payment is old age under the Employees' Pension Insurance Act (Act No. 115 of 1954), or any other benefit whose ground for payment is old age or retirement, specified by Cabinet Order (hereinafter referred to as "old-age benefits, etc. under the Employees' Pension Insurance Act"), or any other person specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as a person for whom there is a special reason for excluding the application of this Act; hereinafter referred to as a "category 1 insured person");

An insured person of Employees' Pension Insurance (hereinafter referred to as a "category 2 insured person");

The spouse of a category 2 insured person (limited to a person who has a domicile in Japan, or a student studying abroad or any other person who, although not having a domicile in Japan, is found — taking into account the purpose of travel and other circumstances — to have the basis of their life in Japan, as specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) who maintains their livelihood mainly through the income of the category 2 insured person (excluding a person who is a category 2 insured person, or any other person specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as a person for whom there is a special reason for excluding the application of this Act; hereinafter referred to as a "dependent spouse"), and who, among such persons, is 20 years of age or older but under 60 years of age (hereinafter referred to as a "category 3 insured person").

For the purposes of applying the provisions of item (iii) of the preceding paragraph, the matters necessary for determining whether a person's livelihood is maintained mainly through the income of a category 2 insured person are specified by Cabinet Order.

The provisions of Chapter III (excluding Article 12 and Article 14) of the Administrative Procedure Act (Act No. 88 of 1993) do not apply to the determination referred to in the preceding paragraph.

An insured person under the provisions of the preceding Article acquires status as an insured person: for a person who does not fall under either item (ii) or item (iii) of paragraph (1) of that Article, on the day on which the person came to fall under any of items (i) through (iii) of this paragraph; for a person under 20 years of age or 60 years of age or older, on the day on which the person came to fall under item (iv); and for any other person, on the day on which the person came to fall under that item or item (v).

When the person reaches 20 years of age;

When the person comes to have a domicile in Japan;

When the person ceases to be a person who is able to receive old-age benefits, etc. under the Employees' Pension Insurance Act, or any other person specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as a person for whom there is a special reason for excluding the application of this Act;

When the person acquires status as an insured person of Employees' Pension Insurance;

When the person becomes a dependent spouse.

An insured person under the provisions of Article 7 loses status as an insured person on the day following the day on which the person came to fall under any of the following items (or, where, on the day the person came to fall under item (ii), the person further came to fall under Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) or item (iii), or came to fall under any of items (iii) through (v) (limited, in the case of item (iv), to a case where the person became a person able to receive old-age benefits, etc. under the Employees' Pension Insurance Act), on that day).

When the person dies;

When the person ceases to have a domicile in Japan (excluding a case falling under Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) or item (iii));

When the person reaches 60 years of age (excluding a case falling under Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii));

When the person becomes a person who is able to receive old-age benefits, etc. under the Employees' Pension Insurance Act, or any other person specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as a person for whom there is a special reason for excluding the application of this Act (excluding a case falling under Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) or item (iii));

When the person loses status as an insured person of Employees' Pension Insurance (excluding a case falling under any item of Article 7, paragraph (1));

When the person ceases to be a dependent spouse (excluding a case falling under Article 7, paragraph (1), item (i) or item (ii)).

When calculating the insured period, it is to be calculated by the month, and the months from the month in which the day on which the person acquired status as an insured person falls, up to the month preceding the month in which the day on which the person lost that status falls, are to be included in it.

When an insured person loses status as an insured person in the month in which the day of acquiring that status falls, that month is included in the insured period as one month. However, this does not apply when the person acquires status as an insured person again in that month.

For a person who, after losing status as an insured person, has again acquired that status, the insured periods before and after are aggregated.

When calculating the insured period as a category 1 insured person, the insured period as a category 2 insured person, or the insured period as a category 3 insured person, a month in which there was a change in the category of insured person (meaning the distinction as to whether a person is a category 1 insured person, a category 2 insured person, or a category 3 insured person; the same applies hereinafter) is deemed to be a month during which the person was an insured person of the category after the change. When there have been changes in the category of insured person two or more times within the same month, that month is deemed to be a month during which the person was an insured person of the last category.