# 健康保険法 / Health Insurance Act — 第三十七条 (Article 37)

- Law: 健康保険法 (Health Insurance Act), 大正十一年法律第七十号
- English title "Health Insurance Act": Ministry of Justice translation
- Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say.
- Provision: 第三十七条 (Article 37)（任意継続被保険者） — address `art-37`
- Text in force since: 2026-10-01
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/health-insurance-act/art-37
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/211AC0000000070/art-37
- Every provision below carries its address and both URLs on the line under it.
- Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below.

Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text
below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and
says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this
site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names.
They are never merged and never substituted for one another.

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### 第三十七条（任意継続被保険者） — (Insured Person with Optional and Continued Coverage)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-37 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/health-insurance-act/art-37 · https://japanlaw.org/l/211AC0000000070/art-37</sup>

  **第一項**  第三条第四項の申出は、被保険者の資格を喪失した日から二十日以内にしなければならない。ただし、保険者は、正当な理由があると認めるときは、この期間を経過した後の申出であっても、受理することができる。
  <sup>art-37/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/health-insurance-act/art-37/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/211AC0000000070/art-37/par-1</sup>
  A request referred to in Article 3, paragraph (4) must be made within 20 days after the date on which eligibility as an insured person is lost; however, when finding a justifiable reason, the insurer may accept a request even after the day on which that period expires.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **第二項**  第三条第四項の申出をした者が、初めて納付すべき保険料をその納付期日までに納付しなかったときは、同項の規定にかかわらず、その者は、任意継続被保険者とならなかったものとみなす。ただし、その納付の遅延について正当な理由があると保険者が認めたときは、この限りでない。
  <sup>art-37/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/health-insurance-act/art-37/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/211AC0000000070/art-37/par-2</sup>
  If the person who made a request referred to in Article 3, paragraph (4) fails to pay the first insurance premium by the due date, the person is deemed to not have become an insured person with optional and continued coverage, notwithstanding the provisions of the same paragraph; however, this does not apply if the insurer finds a justifiable reason for the delay in payment.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

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## Cites
- art-37/par-1: 第三条第四項 → 健康保険法 第三条第四項 (Article 3, paragraph (4)), art-3/par-4 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/health-insurance-act/art-3/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/211AC0000000070/art-3/par-4
- art-37/par-2: 第三条第四項 → 健康保険法 第三条第四項 (Article 3, paragraph (4)), art-3/par-4 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/health-insurance-act/art-3/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/211AC0000000070/art-3/par-4

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## Sources

- e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 健康保険法 — the text in force from 2026-10-01 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/211AC0000000070/20261001_507AC0000000087), retrieved 2026-10-10
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Health Insurance Act — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3266/tb), retrieved 2026-10-10
- This site's parser, version 189 — 健康保険法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-10