Japan's government is planning tougher action against foreign residents who do not contribute to public health insurance or pension, reported NHK World.
Foreign nationals who live in Japan for three months or more are required to join the national pension and health insurance programmes and the government now plans to act against those who fail to comply with payment requests by not allowing them to change or renew their residency status.
The welfare ministry and the Immigration Services Agency plan to start using payment records as part of the screening process for residency applications, with the changes likely to come into force from June 2027.
According to the welfare ministry, the combined pension contributions of foreign residents in the fiscal year through March 2025 were 49.7% of what was due. Another survey among 150 local governments revealed that foreign residents had on average paid 63% of their health insurance premiums, as of the end of last year. There are also cases where people have left Japan with their health insurance payments in arrears, despite using medical services.
The ministry also plans to give local authorities the option of allowing people who move to Japan from abroad to pay health insurance up front in a lump sum, starting next April.