The first thing on your mind after leaving a job is often "unemployment benefits" (formally, the basic allowance under employment insurance). There is one important premise: this is a benefit for "people who have the will to work and are actively seeking employment," and the intended use of the system is to look for a job while receiving it. There is absolutely no need to "receive it all before you start looking" — in fact, if you find a job quickly, you can receive up to 70% of the remaining days as a lump sum through the "re-employment allowance." Under the latest rules from the April 2025 revision, even those who leave voluntarily can start receiving benefits in about a month and a half, and this article explains how to receive them from start to finish.
① Eligibility: 12 months or more of employment insurance in the 2 years before leaving (for company-initiated leaving or specified reasons, 6 months or more in 1 year).
② From when: a 7-day waiting period + for voluntary leaving, the benefit restriction was shortened to "1 month" from April 2025 = about a month and a half to the first payment. There is no benefit restriction if you take vocational training. Company-initiated leaving starts in about a month[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (in Japanese)].
③ How much: roughly 50–80% of your pre-departure wage (daily amount) × 90–330 days (there is a daily-amount cap by age).
④ While receiving benefits, you must, in principle, have 2 or more "job-search activity records" by each recognition day every 4 weeks — applying for jobs, consulting Hello Work, attending seminars, and so on all count. It is a system you receive as a set with job hunting.
⑤ It is designed so you don't lose out by finding a job quickly: if you get a job with 2/3 or more of your prescribed days remaining → a re-employment allowance of remaining days × 70%; with 1/3 or more → 60%[Hello Work (in Japanese)].
⑥ The basic allowance is non-taxable. However, in the dependent judgment for health insurance it counts as income (if the daily amount is ¥3,612 or more, you cannot be a dependent while receiving it).
The flow up to receiving benefits (5 steps)
| Step | What to do | Points |
|---|---|---|
| ① Receive your separation slip | About 10 days after leaving, the company sends "Separation Slip 1 and 2" | If it doesn't arrive, prompt the company or Hello Work. Also prepare your My Number card, bankbook, and photo |
| ② Apply for work at Hello Work | Apply for work at the Hello Work for your area of residence and submit the separation slip (eligibility is determined) | This day is the starting point. The sooner you go, the sooner you receive |
| ③ 7-day waiting period | A waiting period common to everyone (no payment during this time) | Voluntary leaving has an additional 1-month benefit restriction (from April 2025; 3 months for more than 2 voluntary departures within 5 years) |
| ④ Information session / first recognition day | Attend the recipients' information session → attend the "unemployment recognition day" every 4 weeks | Attending the information session counts as a job-search activity record |
| ⑤ Recognition → payment | On each recognition day, report the past 4 weeks of job-search activity → payment in about a week | After that, recognition and payment repeat |
How much, and for how many days, can you receive?
- Basic allowance daily amount = wages in the 6 months before leaving (excluding bonuses) ÷ 180 × 50–80% (the lower the wage, the higher the rate; 45–80% for ages 60–64). There is a daily-amount cap for each age bracket (revised each August).
- Prescribed number of benefit days: 90–150 days for voluntary leaving (under 10 years of enrollment: 90 days; 10–20 years: 120 days; 20 years or more: 150 days). Company-initiated leaving (specified eligible recipients) is more generous at 90–330 days.
- Rough guide: monthly salary ¥300,000, in your 30s, voluntary leaving (under 10 years of enrollment) → daily amount about ¥6,700 × 90 days ≒ a total of about ¥600,000.
- The benefit period is, in principle, 1 year from leaving. If you cannot work immediately due to illness, childbirth, or caregiving, apply to extend the benefit period (up to 4 years) (because the basic allowance is conditioned on being "able to work," while you cannot work it is the domain of the injury and sickness allowance and the like).
"Job-search activity records" | Job hunting while receiving benefits is the correct answer
Unemployment recognition requires, in principle, 2 or more job-search activity records every 4 weeks (for the first time for people with a benefit restriction, more may be required). This is not a hurdle but the very design of the system: "you receive it as long as you are job hunting." Receiving benefits and job hunting in parallel is the fundamental premise.
| Counts as a record | Does not count as a record |
|---|---|
| Applying to a job opening (via a job-change site or by direct application; 1 application = 1 record) | Merely browsing or registering on a job-change site |
| Career consultation or job referral at Hello Work | Asking an acquaintance for an introduction |
| Attending a seminar at Hello Work or a licensed/registered institution | Merely reserving a slot at a company briefing |
| Taking a national exam or qualification test useful for re-employment | — |
| An interview with a job-change agent or taking vocational training | — |
All you do is go to Hello Work on the recognition day and write your activities on the "unemployment recognition report." If you progress to an interview, the interview itself is also a record. Because false reporting is fraudulent receipt (triple repayment + late charges), write down only what you actually did.
If you find a job quickly, the "re-employment allowance" | Don't rush, but don't lose out either
- If you take up stable employment with 2/3 or more of your prescribed benefit days remaining, you receive a lump sum of remaining days × 70% × daily amount. With 1/3 or more, it is 60%[Hello Work leaflet (in Japanese)].
- Example: getting a job with 80 of your 90 days remaining → 80 days × 70% × ¥6,700 ≒ about ¥375,000 received in a lump sum. Compared with "waiting until you receive it all," early re-employment plus the re-employment allowance is often more advantageous in total.
- If the salary at your new job is lower than your previous one, an employment promotion settlement allowance (after 6 months of work) may be added on top.
- Watch the requirements: it must be employment after the 7-day waiting period has passed; within the first month of the 1-month benefit restriction it must be through a referral by Hello Work or the like; a prospect of more than 1 year of work; and it must not be a return to your former company (or an affiliated company), among others.
Relationship with taxes, insurance, and dependents (points characteristic of this site)
- The basic allowance is non-taxable. No income tax or residence tax applies, and no tax return is needed. It is also not included as income in the judgment for the spousal deduction and other tax dependents.
- However, for the health insurance dependent (the ¥1.3 million standard) it counts as income. While you are receiving a daily amount of ¥3,612 or more (¥1.3 million ÷ 360 days), you cannot, in principle, be a dependent under your spouse's health insurance. During the benefit restriction before benefits begin, you can often be a dependent, so managing the timing of entering and leaving is important.
- If you leave for company-initiated reasons and the like, be sure to apply for the reduction of national health insurance premiums (the previous year's salary income is calculated at 30/100). For pension, the exemption application is available (the unemployment special provision excludes the person's own income).
- Because there is no year-end adjustment in the year you leave, don't forget that a tax return often refunds over-withheld tax.
FAQ
If I leave voluntarily, from when can I receive benefits?
With the April 2025 revision, the benefit restriction was shortened from 2 months to 1 month, so from the procedure at Hello Work it is a 7-day waiting period + a 1-month benefit restriction = roughly a month and a half to two months until the first payment. If you take a course eligible for the education and training benefit, the benefit restriction itself is lifted. Note that if you have more than 2 voluntary departures within 5 years, it is 3 months.
Is it okay to job hunt while receiving unemployment benefits?
On the contrary, that is the premise of the system. The basic allowance is a benefit for "people who have the will and ability to work and are actively seeking employment," and you receive it by reporting, in principle, 2 or more job-search activity records (applications, career consultations, seminars, etc.) every 4 weeks. Even if you get a job offer quickly, you can receive a re-employment allowance of up to 70% depending on your remaining days, so it is designed so you don't lose out by early re-employment.
Can I do a part-time job while receiving benefits?
You can, but you must always report it on the recognition day. Within a range such as under 20 hours a week, on the days you work the basic allowance is reduced or postponed. Working 20 hours or more a week can be treated as "employment." Working without reporting is fraudulent receipt (repayment + a payment order of up to triple), so never fail to report.
If I receive unemployment benefits, do I leave my husband's (wife's) dependent status?
It does not affect the tax dependent (spousal deduction) (because it is non-taxable). On the other hand, for the health insurance dependent, the principle is that you leave it while receiving a daily amount of ¥3,612 or more, and during that time you enroll in national health insurance and the national pension (category 1). During the benefit restriction before receiving benefits, or after benefits end, you can return to being a dependent.
Data sources
- Shortening of the benefit restriction (April 2025, 1 month) and its lifting through vocational training: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — On the lifting of the benefit restriction (in Japanese) / Same, leaflet (in Japanese)
- Re-employment allowance (70% / 60%): Hello Work Internet Service — Employment promotion benefits (in Japanese) / Re-employment allowance leaflet (in Japanese)
- Eligibility for the basic allowance, job-search activity records, and the basic allowance daily amount (revised each August): Hello Work Internet Service and materials published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
* The handling of benefit amounts, days, and activity records differs by reason for leaving, age, and regional operation. This article is general information, and for your individual eligibility and amounts, please confirm with the Hello Work for your area of residence.