This is a translation of the Japanese original. The Japanese version is authoritative; figures follow Japanese tax law.
An employee's social insurance premiums come to five items — health insurance, long-term care insurance, employees' pension, employment insurance and, from fiscal 2026, the child and childcare support levy — and the employee's own share is roughly 15% of pay. On a monthly salary of 300,000 yen that is 44,070 yen a month (under 40); on an annual income of 5 million yen, bonuses included, about 780,000 yen a year. On top of that the company pays the same amount or more, so employer and employee together send 30% of annual income to social insurance. Using the fiscal 2026 rates of the Japan Health Insurance Association's Tokyo branch and the Japan Pension Service, this article sets out quick-reference tables by monthly salary and by annual income, what the company is paying, the differences between prefectures, and the caps and the room there is to cut the bill.
The short answer: your own share is about 15% of your monthly salary. A quick-reference table by salary (Tokyo, fiscal 2026)
| Monthly salary (standard monthly remuneration) | Health insurance | Long-term care (ages 40-64) | Support levy | Employees' pension | Employment insurance | Total under 40 | Total ages 40-64 | Employer's share (ages 40-64) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200,000 yen | 9,850 yen | 1,620 yen | 230 yen | 18,300 yen | 1,000 yen | 29,380 yen | 31,000 yen | 32,420 yen |
| 250,000 yen (260,000 yen) | 12,805 yen | 2,106 yen | 299 yen | 23,790 yen | 1,250 yen | 38,144 yen | 40,250 yen | 42,061 yen |
| 300,000 yen | 14,775 yen | 2,430 yen | 345 yen | 27,450 yen | 1,500 yen | 44,070 yen | 46,500 yen | 48,630 yen |
| 350,000 yen (360,000 yen) | 17,730 yen | 2,916 yen | 414 yen | 32,940 yen | 1,750 yen | 52,834 yen | 55,750 yen | 58,271 yen |
| 400,000 yen (410,000 yen) | 20,192 yen | 3,321 yen | 471 yen | 37,515 yen | 2,000 yen | 60,178 yen | 63,499 yen | 66,375 yen |
| 450,000 yen (440,000 yen) | 21,670 yen | 3,564 yen | 506 yen | 40,260 yen | 2,250 yen | 64,686 yen | 68,250 yen | 71,409 yen |
| 500,000 yen | 24,625 yen | 4,050 yen | 575 yen | 45,750 yen | 2,500 yen | 73,450 yen | 77,500 yen | 81,050 yen |
| 600,000 yen (590,000 yen) | 29,057 yen | 4,779 yen | 678 yen | 53,985 yen | 3,000 yen | 86,720 yen | 91,499 yen | 95,723 yen |
| 650,000 yen or more | 32,012 yen | 5,265 yen | 747 yen | 59,475 yen | 3,250 yen and up | 95,484 yen | 100,749 yen | 105,364 yen |
Note: calculated with the fiscal 2026 rates of the Japan Health Insurance Association's Tokyo branch (health insurance 9.85%, long-term care 1.62%, child and childcare support levy 0.23%, employees' pension 18.3%, all split equally between employer and employee) and employment insurance (general businesses: worker 0.5%, employer 0.85%). The figure in brackets is the standard monthly remuneration the salary falls into. The employer's share includes employment insurance of 0.85% and the child-rearing contribution of 0.36%, and excludes workers' accident compensation insurance premiums (which vary by industry and are paid entirely by the employer).
Health insurance keeps climbing past a monthly salary of 650,000 yen, following the health insurance grades up to a cap of 1.39 million yen, but the employees' pension stops at 650,000 yen. The 59,475 yen of employees' pension in the top row above is the same figure on a monthly salary of 1 million yen[Japan Pension Service].
The rates of the five premiums, and who pays them (fiscal 2026)
| Insurance | Rate (total) | Employee | Employer | What it applies to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health insurance (Japan Health Insurance Association, Tokyo) | 9.85% | 4.925% | 4.925% | Standard monthly remuneration and standard bonus amount |
| Long-term care insurance (ages 40-64) | 1.62% | 0.81% | 0.81% | Same as above |
| Child and childcare support levy | 0.23% | 0.115% | 0.115% | Same as above (from the April 2026 premium) |
| Employees' pension | 18.3% | 9.15% | 9.15% | Standard monthly remuneration (cap 650,000 yen) and standard bonus amount (cap 1.5 million yen per payment) |
| Employment insurance (general businesses) | 1.35% | 0.5% | 0.85% | The actual amount of each month's pay and of bonuses |
| Workers' accident compensation insurance | By industry (0.25% to 8.8%) | 0 | All of it | Total wages |
| Child-rearing contribution | 0.36% | 0 | All of it | Standard monthly remuneration and standard bonus amount |
| Employee total | About 15.5% (about 14.7% under 40) | About 16% plus accident insurance |
The health insurance rate differs by prefecture, and in fiscal 2026 the spread runs from 9.21% in Niigata to 10.55% in Saga. On a monthly salary of 300,000 yen that is a difference of 2,000 yen a month, or 24,000 yen a year, in the employee's own share[Japan Health Insurance Association]. Companies with a corporate health insurance society use their society's own rate, which is often lower than the Association's, while the long-term care rate is 1.62% everywhere in the country. Employment insurance came down by 0.1 point across every industry (0.05 for the employee) in April 2026[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare].
Annual amounts by income: 780,000 yen for the employee on 5 million yen, 1.56 million yen once the employer's share is added
Assuming a bonus worth two months' pay once a year, the annual premiums on both monthly salary and bonus come out as follows (ages 40 to 64, Tokyo).
| Annual income | Rough monthly salary | Employee's share (per year) | As a share of annual income | Total including the employer's share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 million yen | 214,000 yen | About 475,000 yen | 15.8% | About 950,000 yen |
| 4 million yen | 286,000 yen | About 610,000 yen | 15.2% | About 1.22 million yen |
| 5 million yen | 357,000 yen | About 780,000 yen | 15.6% | About 1.56 million yen |
| 6 million yen | 429,000 yen | About 950,000 yen | 15.8% | About 1.9 million yen |
| 7 million yen | 500,000 yen | About 1,085,000 yen | 15.5% | About 2.17 million yen |
| 8 million yen | 571,000 yen | About 1.22 million yen | 15.2% | About 2.44 million yen |
| 10 million yen | 714,000 yen | About 1.43 million yen | 14.3% | About 2.87 million yen |
| 12 million yen | 857,000 yen | About 1.47 million yen | 12.2% | About 2.94 million yen |
The rate falls above an annual income of 10 million yen because the standard monthly remuneration for the employees' pension stops at 650,000 yen. That cap rises to 680,000 yen in September 2027, 710,000 yen in September 2028 and 750,000 yen in September 2029, which will add 9,100 yen a month to the own share of anyone on a monthly salary of 750,000 yen or more[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare]. Looked at as a total including the employer's share, the company is paying a further 780,000 yen or so a year for someone on 5 million yen, so the real labour cost is 5.78 million yen. This is the part companies mean when they say the social insurance burden is heavy: the money for pay rises and the growth in social insurance premiums come out of the same pocket.
Half of the employees' pension premium the company pays is reflected in your future pension, and the employer's share of health insurance funds the 70% cover of medical costs and the injury and sickness allowance. A sole proprietor who joins National Health Insurance and the National Pension alone has no such employer's share. For a comparison of the burden on a sole proprietor and on an employee, see whether a micro-corporation cuts your social insurance premiums.
There is little room to cut it. All that really moves the figure is April-June pay and how bonuses are handled
- Hold down overtime from April to June. Standard monthly remuneration is set from the average pay actually paid in April, May and June, and is then fixed for a year from the September premium. Add 50,000 yen a month of overtime pay across those three months and someone on 300,000 yen moves up two grades, paying about 100,000 yen more a year (April-June overtime raises your premiums for a year). The upside is a larger future pension and a larger injury and sickness allowance.
- More dependants does not cut the bill. Adding a spouse or children as dependants on your health insurance leaves the premium unchanged (this is separate from the tax dependant deduction). Put the other way round, however many dependants you have, there is no extra charge.
- Commuting allowances count too. Even where they are tax-free, commuting allowances are included in the social insurance calculation. A six-month season ticket paid as a lump sum in April to June is spread across the months and counted as remuneration.
- For the employees' pension the cap on a bonus is 1.5 million yen per payment. For health insurance the cap is a cumulative 5.73 million yen a year. The higher the share of your pay that comes as a bonus, the more the caps pull your effective rate down (take-home pay from a bonus).
- Every yen of premium you pay is a social insurance premium deduction. On 780,000 yen a year, someone in the 20% bracket is already paying about 230,000 yen less in income tax and resident tax. It is applied automatically in the year-end adjustment, so there is nothing to file.
Which line on your payslip is which premium is covered in how to read your payslip, and how to look up your grade in how to check your standard monthly remuneration.
Frequently asked questions
Is a company with a corporate health insurance society cheaper than the Japan Health Insurance Association?
Each society sets its own rate, and many are below the Association's average, while some societies also set the employee's share at less than 50%. The long-term care rate is 1.62% nationwide even in a society, and the employees' pension is 18.3% either way. You can find your own rate on your society's website, or by dividing the health insurance premium on your payslip by your standard monthly remuneration.
If I join social insurance as a part-timer, how much does my take-home pay fall?
On a monthly salary of 110,000 yen (standard monthly remuneration 110,000 yen) it is health insurance 5,418 yen, the support levy 127 yen, employees' pension 10,065 yen and employment insurance 550 yen, about 16,000 yen a month, with a further 891 yen of long-term care insurance from age 40. On an annual income of 1.32 million yen that is about 200,000 yen a year, but it is cheaper than joining the National Pension and National Health Insurance on your own, and it adds a future employees' pension.
Summary
- An employee's share covers five items—health insurance, long-term care insurance, employees' pension, employment insurance, and the child and childcare support levy—totaling roughly 15% of gross pay.
- For a monthly salary of ¥300,000, the employee pays about ¥44,070 a month (under age 40); for an annual income of ¥5 million, it's about ¥780,000 a year. The employer pays an equal or greater amount.
- Employees' pension contributions are capped at a standard monthly remuneration of ¥650,000. This cap will rise to ¥680,000 in September 2027 and ¥750,000 in September 2029.
- Health insurance premium rates vary by prefecture, ranging from 9.21% in Niigata to 10.55% in Saga.
- There is little room to reduce these premiums; what matters most is managing overtime pay from April to June and how bonuses are handled. All premiums paid are fully deductible as the social insurance premium deduction.
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Reference links (sources)
This article is based on the materials below. The rates change from the March premium (deducted in April) each year.
Note: this article is general information. Corporate health insurance societies, mutual aid associations and Japan Health Insurance Association branches in other prefectures use different rates. The figures by annual income are estimates that assume a bonus worth two months' pay a year.