Rosai hoken pays medical costs, lost wages, disability and survivor benefits when an employee is hurt or falls ill because of work, or is injured commuting. It covers everyone the employer pays as a worker, including part-time and temporary staff and foreign employees, regardless of hours. Board directors without employee status are not covered unless they join a special scheme.
The employer pays the whole premium, calculated on total annual wages and filed each year together with employment insurance. Rates depend on the industry. Under the schedule revised in April 2024, the lowest rate, for sectors such as finance, insurance, real estate, telecoms and publishing, is 2.5 per 1,000; the highest, for certain kinds of mining, is 88 per 1,000. Rates are reviewed every three years, so the next revision is due for fiscal 2027. Larger employers' rates also move with their own accident record.
Claims are decided by the Labour Standards Inspection Office, not the employer. That includes mental illness and cardiovascular disease caused by overwork or harassment, which the ministry assesses against published criteria. Recognised claims are reported and can become public.
What it means for a foreign employer
- For an office business, the cost is small. At 2.5 per 1,000, it is a minor line in the employment budget.
- Overwork claims are the real exposure. A recognised claim for mental illness or a stroke caused by long hours is a reputational and legal problem, and often leads to a civil claim on top.
- Assignees abroad need a separate enrolment. Employees sent from Japan to work overseas are covered only if the employer joins a special scheme for overseas assignments.
- You cannot settle around it. An employee can file a claim directly with the inspection office, whatever the employer thinks of it.
Sources
- Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act; Act on the Collection of Labour Insurance Premiums.
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, workers' accident insurance rate schedule from April 2024.