National Health Insurance and the pension in Fukuoka City: joining within 14 days

This page is general information from official sources. It is not financial or legal advice. For your own case, ask the Health Insurance & Pension Section of your ward office or the Japan Pension Service.

If you live in Fukuoka City and you do not get health insurance and a pension through your job, you usually have to sign up for them yourself at your ward office. This guide explains who joins National Health Insurance and the National Pension, how to join within 14 days, how payment works, and what to do when you cannot pay or when you leave Japan.

In short

Not covered by health insurance through your job, or as a family member? Join National Health Insurance at your ward office within 14 days (section 2).
Joining late does not save money: premiums are charged back to the date you became eligible, for up to two years (section 2).
Everyone aged 20 to 59 who lives in Japan must be in the National Pension. If your job does not enroll you, register at the ward office within 14 days (section 4).
If you cannot pay, talk to the ward office early. For the pension, you can apply for an exemption (section 5).
Leaving Japan? File a moving-out notice. You may be able to claim a lump-sum withdrawal of pension payments within two years (section 6).

Checked with official pages on September 27, 2026.

1. Which insurance and pension apply to me?

Official rule (Japan)

Japan has public health insurance and a public pension for residents, including foreign nationals. Which plan you are in depends on your work. Find your situation below.

You are	Health insurance	Pension
In a workplace plan	Workplace health insurance, arranged by your employer	Employees’ Pension Insurance, arranged by your employer (Category II)
Dependent spouse	If your spouse is in a workplace plan: possibly that plan. Ask the employer	Category III, registered through your spouse’s employer
Not in a workplace plan	Students, self-employed people, people not working, or jobs without workplace insurance: National Health Insurance at your ward office	National Pension, Category I, at your ward office

The Japan Pension Service says people who move to Japan are in Category I from the day they arrive until they become Category II or III. So if there is a gap before your workplace coverage starts, you may need to register for that gap. If you came from a country that has a social security agreement with Japan, you may be exempt; see the Japan Pension Service page for people entering Japan.

Health insurance and the pension in Fukuoka City: register your address, check your job coverage, join National Health Insurance, register for the National Pension, and what to do when leaving Japan

2. How do I join National Health Insurance?

Who must join, and by when

Fukuoka City

National Health Insurance (国民健康保険, kokumin kenko hoken, often called NHI) is run by Fukuoka City. The city’s English pages say foreign residents staying in Japan for more than 3 months must be in public health insurance, and must join NHI unless they are in another plan. The city lists people who cannot join NHI, including:

people in a workplace health insurance plan;
people with Designated Activities status for medical treatment or for sightseeing and recreation, including those who assist or accompany them;
people receiving public assistance;
people from a country whose social security agreement with Japan covers medical insurance, who hold a certificate that they are covered at home.

Important

Notify your ward office within 14 days. If you are late, you still pay premiums from the date you became eligible, going back up to two years, and medical costs in that gap are fully your own unless there was an unavoidable reason.

How to join

Fukuoka City

Register your address first. If you moved into Fukuoka City, file your moving-in notice at the Citizen Section. See Registering your address in Fukuoka City.
Go to the Health Insurance & Pension Section (保険年金課, hoken nenkin ka) in the same ward office. At Irube Branch Office it is the Insurance and Welfare Unit; at the Western Branch Office, the Insurance Unit.
Bring what the city lists. Foreign residents bring a residence card or special permanent resident certificate, and a passport. You also need papers that show your My Number and your identity. If you left a workplace plan, bring the certificate of loss of insurance (健康保険等資格喪失証明書) from your former employer or insurer; the city says a resignation letter or a separation notice is not a substitute.
Bring your bank cash card if you want to pay by direct debit. The city says direct debit is the standard way to pay, and you can set it up at the counter with the cash card.

If someone other than the head of household goes, the city asks for a letter of proxy (委任状) and ID documents. City page on joining NHI (Japanese).

What you receive, and what you pay at the hospital

Official rule (Japan) + Fukuoka City

If you have registered your My Number card as a health insurance card (マイナ保険証), you show that card at hospitals, and the city sends you a notice of your insurance information (資格情報のお知らせ). If you have not, the city issues an eligibility certificate (資格確認書, shikaku kakuninsho), which you show instead. At a hospital or clinic you then pay part of the cost: 30% for ages from starting elementary school to 69, and 20% for children before elementary school. City page on the eligibility certificate (Japanese).

Where to go

Fukuoka City

Go to the office for the ward where you are registered. Counters are open on weekdays, 8:45 to 17:15, except public holidays and December 29 to January 3. The table lists the seven ward offices and two branch offices. The phone numbers are for the Health Insurance & Pension desks, from the city’s NHI contact list.

Office	Address	Phone	Map
Higashi (東区役所)	2-54-1 Hakozaki, Higashi Ward	092-645-1102	Google Maps
Hakata (博多区役所)	2-8-1 Hakataekimae, Hakata Ward	092-419-1118	Google Maps
Chuo (中央区役所)	2-5-31 Daimyo, Chuo Ward	092-718-1124	Google Maps
Minami (南区役所)	3-25-1 Shiobaru, Minami Ward	092-559-5152	Google Maps
Jonan (城南区役所)	6-1-1 Torikai, Jonan Ward	092-833-4123	Google Maps
Sawara (早良区役所)	2-1-1 Momochi, Sawara Ward	092-833-4372	Google Maps
Irube Branch (入部出張所)	2-14-8 Higashi-Irube, Sawara Ward	092-804-2014	Google Maps
Nishi (西区役所)	1-4-1 Uchihama, Nishi Ward	092-895-7090	Google Maps
Seibu Branch (西部出張所)	2-1-1 Saito, Nishi Ward (inside Saitopia)	092-806-9432	Google Maps

3. How are premiums worked out and paid?

Fukuoka City

NHI premiums are set for each household. They depend on the number of members, their ages, and the household’s income in the previous year. The city has an Excel calculation sheet for a rough yearly estimate; the city says the result is only an estimate.

After you join, the city mails a notice with your premium amount and due dates. Its English leaflet says the notice comes in a blue envelope. You pay by direct debit or with the payment slip, which the city says you can use at financial institutions and convenience stores, or with some cashless payment apps.

Important

The city’s English leaflet warns that if you do not pay on time, you may be charged late fees, your savings and wages may be seized, and an application for your visa or residence card may be refused. If paying is hard, talk to the Health Insurance & Pension Section as soon as possible. City leaflet in English (PDF).

4. How do I join the National Pension?

Official rule (Japan)

The Japan Pension Service says all residents of Japan aged 20 to 59, regardless of nationality, must be covered by the National Pension (国民年金, kokumin nenkin). The pension is not only for old age: it can also pay disability and survivors’ pensions.

Category I (students, self-employed, people not working, and anyone who is not Category II or III): register yourself at your city office within 14 days. In Fukuoka City, you register at your ward office or branch office.
Category II (people in Employees’ Pension Insurance through their job): your employer enrolls you. The city says you do not need to do anything at the ward office.
Category III (dependent spouses of Category II members, aged 20 to 59): your spouse’s employer registers you.

The Japan Pension Service says people with Designated Activities status for medical treatment or long-term sightseeing are not covered as Category I or III. When you register, you are sent a Basic Pension Number Notice (基礎年金番号通知書). Keep it safe; you need it for later procedures.

For fiscal year 2026, the Category I contribution is ¥17,920 a month. It is due by the end of the next month (for example, April’s by May 31). You can pay with the payment slips the Japan Pension Service sends, by direct debit, by credit card, with smartphone apps, or through “Nenkin Net”. Direct debit and credit card need registration in advance. Japan Pension Service: contributions.

5. What if I cannot pay?

National Health Insurance

Fukuoka City

The city asks you to consult the Health Insurance & Pension Section of your ward office as soon as possible. Do this before you miss payments.

National Pension

Official rule (Japan)

If your income is low, you can apply at your ward office for an exemption. There are four levels: full, three-quarters, half and one-quarter. There is also a payment postponement for people under 50, and a special payment system for students. Your income, and that of your spouse and head of household, is checked. One application covers up to one year, so apply again each year if needed.

Note

With a partial exemption, you must still pay the rest; if you do not, the month counts as unpaid. You can apply for up to 2 years and 1 month back, but Fukuoka City warns that if you apply late, you may not get a disability pension for an accident or illness that happened before you applied. Exempted months can be paid later, within 10 years. Japan Pension Service: exemptions · City page (Japanese).

6. What changes when I get a job or leave Japan?

You join a workplace plan

Fukuoka City

NHI does not stop by itself. Within 14 days, tell your ward office that you have joined workplace insurance, with the workplace insurance document that shows your start date, for everyone who is leaving NHI. The city says this can also be done online or by post. For the pension, your employer handles the change, and the city says no ward office procedure is needed. City page on leaving NHI (Japanese).

You leave Japan

Official rule (Japan)

File a moving-out notice at your ward office before you leave. If you were in the Japanese pension for short periods, you may be able to claim a Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment (脱退一時金) after you leave. The Japan Pension Service lists these conditions:

you do not have Japanese nationality;
you paid National Pension contributions, or were in Employees’ Pension Insurance, for 6 months or more in total;
you no longer have an address in Japan;
you have never been entitled to a pension (including a disability allowance).

Important

Claim within two years of the day you no longer have an address in Japan. Once you receive the payment, all your earlier periods in the Japanese pension are cancelled. If you already have 10 years (120 months) of qualifying periods, you cannot claim it. If you leave with a re-entry permit but without filing a moving-out notice, you cannot claim until the permit expires.

The claim form, with English, is on the Japan Pension Service page on Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments.

7. Can I get help in my language?

Fukuoka City

The city’s multilingual support line for all ward offices, 092-753-6113, connects you to the ward office through an interpreter, on weekdays from 9:00 to 17:00. Fukuoka City’s page in Easy Japanese (updated January 16, 2025) lists 23 languages for this line; the city’s English NHI leaflet names English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Nepali. For pension contributions and benefits, the city refers you to the Japan Pension Service’s pension offices (年金事務所). Japan Pension Service in English.

8. Common questions

Do I have to tell the pension office when I move?

For Category I members, Fukuoka City says a change of address or name generally does not need a separate pension notice, if your My Number is recorded with the Japan Pension Service. You can check this at a pension office. Category III members report through their spouse’s employer.

I lost my Basic Pension Number Notice. What do I do?

Category I members can get it reissued at the ward office or a pension office; the city says to go straight to a pension office if you are in a hurry. Category II and III members use a pension office.

Can I pay the pension in advance?

Yes. The Japan Pension Service says paying in advance gives a discount, and asks you to contact your nearest pension office to arrange it.

I turn 20 in Japan. Do I need to register?

Fukuoka City says people who turned 20 in or after October 2019 generally do not need to file; the Japan Pension Service sends a notice and the Basic Pension Number Notice. If you are a dependent spouse of a Category II member, your spouse’s employer registers you.

National Health Insurance and the pension in Fukuoka City: joining within 14 days

1. Which insurance and pension apply to me?