If you work part-time in Japan and your monthly pay sits just under ¥88,000, the number that has quietly shaped your schedule for years no longer exists. On October 1, 2026 Japan removed the wage requirement — the famous “¥1.06 million wall” — for enrolling part-time workers in employee pension (kosei nenkin) and health insurance. What replaces it is a simpler test based on hours and company size, not income. For foreign residents on spouse visas, working-holiday visas, or juggling several part-time jobs, this changes whether you pay premiums, who you are insured through, and what you get back. This guide explains the new rules and a rollout that runs all the way to 2035.
📋 Quick Navigation: What changed · Who is covered now · What it means for your pay · 2027–2035 rollout · The ¥1.3M wall · FAQ
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See TIFE Events →What changed on October 1, 2026
Until now, a short-time worker had to meet several conditions at once, including a minimum monthly wage of ¥88,000 (about ¥1.06 million a year). Reporting on the October 1 changes says that wage condition has now been abolished. Two checks remain: how many hours you are scheduled to work, and how big your employer is. Note: because a couple of earlier explainers described the exact date as still undecided, confirm your own case with your employer’s payroll team or the Japan Pension Service before changing your hours.
Who is covered now
You are generally enrolled in employee pension and health insurance if all of these apply:
- You are scheduled to work 20 hours or more per week.
- Your employer has 51 or more employees (this threshold starts falling in 2027, see below).
- Your employment is expected to last more than two months.
- You are not a student (day students are excluded).
Commentators describe the shift as moving from the “¥1.06M wall” to a “20-hour wall”, and warn that some workers may cut hours to stay below 20 per week. That is a personal trade-off: you pay premiums, but you also build employee-pension history and move onto your employer’s health insurance instead of paying into national insurance yourself.
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Social insurance premiums are split 50/50 between you and your employer. One Japanese advisory estimate, using Tokyo rates for a 40-year-old under the Kyokai Kenpo health plan (2024 rates), puts the employer’s share at about ¥12,500/month for a ¥90,000 monthly wage, ¥14,000 for ¥100,000 and ¥17,000 for ¥120,000. As a rough guide, your own deduction is of a similar size, though actual amounts depend on your age, region and plan.
How many hours is 20 a week in money? At Tokyo’s October 2026 minimum wage of ¥1,280/hour, 20 hours a week is roughly ¥110,000 a month (our estimate: 20 × ¥1,280 × 52 ÷ 12), comfortably above the old ¥88,000 line — which is why the hours test, not the wage test, is now the one that matters in Tokyo.
The company-size rollout: 2027 to 2035
| Date | Employer size that must enroll 20+ hour workers |
|---|---|
| Now (Oct 2026) | 51+ employees |
| October 2027 | 36+ employees |
| October 2029 | 21+ employees |
| October 2032 | 11+ employees |
| October 2035 | All employers |
If you work 20+ hours a week at a company with 40 staff, you are not covered today but will be from October 2027.
The separate ¥1.3 million wall still exists
If you are a dependent spouse insured through your partner (or a dependent in the national-pension sense), the ¥1.3 million annual income limit for keeping that dependent status is a different rule and was not removed. Enrolling in your own employer’s insurance replaces dependent status; staying below the enrollment thresholds while earning over ¥1.3 million means you must pay national insurance and pension yourself.
Part-time social insurance FAQ
- Is the ¥1.06 million wall really abolished? Reporting says the wage requirement was removed on October 1, 2026; check with your employer or the Japan Pension Service for your own case.
- What is the new test? Scheduled work of 20+ hours a week, an employer with 51+ employees, expected employment of over two months, and not being a student.
- Do students have to enroll? No. Day students remain excluded from this enrollment rule.
- When will smaller companies be included? The size threshold drops to 36+ employees in October 2027, 21+ in October 2029, 11+ in October 2032, and all employers in October 2035.
- Who pays the premiums? Premiums are split 50/50 between you and your employer.
- Does this remove the ¥1.3 million dependent wall? No, that is a separate limit for staying a dependent on a partner’s insurance.
Quick reference
- Effective: October 1, 2026 (wage test removed)
- New test: 20+ hours/week, 51+ employees, 2+ months, not a student
- Premium split: 50/50 with your employer
- Next step: 36+ employees from October 2027
- Related: Tokyo Minimum Wage ¥1,280 (Oct 2026) | Japan Health Insurance for Foreigners 2026 | Japan Pension Refund for Foreigners | Moving to Japan — TIFE Community Hub
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