Tokyo eyes social insurance standards for foreign workers
THE JAPANESE government intends to not allow foreign nationals to stay in Japan when they fail to pay social insurance premiums for a long time, keeping in mind the acceptance of more foreign workers in the country, according to sources.
The Justice Ministry and the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry plan to share information on social insurance premium delinquents, the sources said. When the Justice Ministry screens the extension of the period of stay in Japan for foreign nationals, whether they pay insurance premiums properly will be one of the criteria to make the decision.
The government has submitted to the current Diet session a bill to revise the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law, with the aim of establishing a new residence status with specific skills in order to accept more foreign workers in business fields involving simple labor.
Ahead of the bill deliberations, in a hearing at the Legislative Council of the House of Representatives on Friday, Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita said of the new residence status, “( The ministry) is considering not allowing foreign nationals who do not pay social insurance premiums intentionally for a long time.”
The minister also said, “It’s important to ensure the social insurance system is properly operated,” expressing his view to establish a system to share information on the social insurance premium delinquents among related government ministries and agencies.
According to Justice Ministry guidelines, foreign nationals are allowed to stay in Japan if they display good conduct, have the assets or skills necessary to support themselves and fulfi ll their obligation to pay taxes.
However, there are no stipulations on the payment of social insurance premiums. For that reason, the Justice Ministry is considering revising the guidelines and adding whether they properly pay the premiums as a new requirement.
In Japan, when foreign nationals stay for more than three months and have their residence certificates, they are required to pay social insurance premiums according to their income.
Foreign students and those in self- employed businesses are required to enroll in the national pension and national health insurance programs, while foreigners working at companies are required to enroll in employees’ pension and corporate health insurance programmes.
With the expansion of foreign workers in Japan, the government is concerned mainly about foreign workers who fail to pay premiums for the national health insurance and the national pension, because there could be a case in which foreign nationals, who receive treatment at medical institutions without being covered by the insurance, ignore their medical fees.
On the other hand, it is said that there are some cases in which companies hiring foreign workers do not have foreign workers covered by these social insurance systems.
To approve the new residence status of foreign nationals, the Health, Labor and Welfare Division of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which is headed by Shinjiro Koizumi, seeks a strict screening for whether they are covered by the social insurance system and whether they properly pay social insurance premiums.—
The ministry is considering not allowing foreign nationals who do not pay social insurance premiums intentionally for a long time. It’s important to ensure the social insurance system is properly operated. Takashi Yamashita, Justice Minister