Japanese Unemployment Insurance – 90 days safety net !

What happens if the company you work for goes bankrupt, issues layoffs, moves or merges and you lose your job while living here without a follow-up gig on the horizon?

Luckily, the social benefits that are deducted from your pay can help. For anyone who quits or is downsized or otherwise loses their job and has no secondary source of income to support themselves there is a temporary fallback — koyou hoken (雇用保険), or unemployment insurance.

What is it?

The koyou hoken benefit — also known as shitsugyou hoken (失業保険) — is a kind of safety net for those who have lost their job in Japan and are yet to find a new one. The scheme helps recently unemployed people to support themselves until they find their next job. It’s run by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare but anyone who wants to use the system will have to go through Hello Work (Japanese), the government organization that helps anybody in Japan find employment.

Who can enroll?

To claim unemployment insurance benefits, you must, of course, have first paid into the system. Anyone who has worked in Japan for six months and made insurance payments is eligible to apply.

They will want you to prove that you are eligible to enroll so make sure to bring along the following items:

• Rishoku-hyo (“letter of separation,” or official document from your previous employer showing your salary, how long you’ve worked there and the reason for leaving your job)
• Residence card
• Bank book
• My Number card
• Hanko
• Two passport-sized photos, 3 cm x 2.5 cm each

How much can you collect?

It very difficult to tell how much you will get before your first consultation with Hello Work. Payments are calculated from your previous salary but they are also influenced by your age, career, and reason for leaving.

Usually, you will receive from 50 to 80 percent of your previous salary. If you were earning a high salary before being unemployed then that number will be closer to 50 percent because Hello Work will assume that you should have savings to support you. Those who had a smaller salary will be closer to 80 percent.