Pick a ward in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawasaki or Osaka to see which labour standards office, Hello Work, pension office, Legal Affairs Bureau, immigration bureau and labour bureau cover it, and what employers file at each.
The offices, and what employers file at each
Labour Standards Inspection Offices
The labour standards inspection office enforces the Labour Standards Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act, and handles workers' accident insurance.
- The 36 agreement (overtime and holiday work agreement), before any overtime is worked, and each renewal
- Work rules, for workplaces with 10 or more employees, and every change, with the employee representative's written opinion
- Notice of start of business (適用事業報告) when you first hire
- Labour insurance registration (保険関係成立届) for a new business, and the annual labour insurance declaration
- Workers' accident insurance claims, and reports of workplace injuries
- Annual health-check results report, for workplaces with 50 or more workers
Hello Work offices
The hello work office is the public employment service: employment insurance for employers, and free job postings.
- Employment insurance registration (雇用保険適用事業所設置届) within 10 days of hiring your first insured employee
- Employment insurance enrolment (資格取得届) by the 10th of the month after each hire
- Loss of insured status (資格喪失届) and the separation certificate (離職証明書) within 10 days of an employee leaving
- Notification of employment of foreign workers (外国人雇用状況の届出), on hiring and on leaving
- The annual report on the employment of older workers and people with disabilities, as at 1 June
- Free job postings
Pension Offices
The pension office is the Japan Pension Service office for employees' pension and, for Kyokai Kenpo members, health insurance.
- Social insurance registration (新規適用届) when the company starts: every corporation paying even one person must join
- Enrolment (資格取得届) within 5 days of each hire, and loss of status (資格喪失届) within 5 days of leaving
- The annual earnings report (算定基礎届) by 10 July
- Notice of a large pay change (月額変更届) and bonus payment report (賞与支払届, within 5 days)
- Large companies must file these online through e-Gov
Legal Affairs Bureaus
The legal affairs bureau keeps the commercial register: company incorporation and every change to it.
- Incorporation (設立登記), and branch registration for a foreign company (外国会社の登記)
- Changes of directors or the representative director, within two weeks
- Head office relocation, change of name, purpose or capital
- Certificates of registered matters and seal certificates: from any bureau, or online
Immigration Services Bureaus
The immigration services bureau handles residence status: work visas, renewals and changes.
- Certificates of Eligibility (在留資格認定証明書) for hires coming from abroad
- Changes and extensions of status of residence, including online applications
- Employees must notify immigration within 14 days of changing employer; employers of some statuses are asked to notify too
- Applications can be filed by the employer's staff or an authorised agent such as a lawyer or gyoseishoshi
Prefectural Labour Bureaus
The labour bureau is the prefecture-wide MHLW office above the labour standards offices and Hello Work.
- Action plans under the Women's Advancement Act and the Next Generation Act (101+ employees), and Eruboshi and Kurumin certification
- Licences for worker dispatch and fee-charging employment placement
- Harassment, childcare-leave and equal-treatment consultations, advice and mediation
Every area
Tokyo
Yokohama
Kawasaki
Osaka
Questions
How is jurisdiction decided?
By where each workplace is, including branches and plants. A branch in another ward deals with the offices that cover that ward, not the head office's.
We have just set up a company in Japan. Where do we file first?
Incorporation at the Legal Affairs Bureau; then social insurance registration at the pension office, labour insurance registration and the notice of start of business at the labour standards office, and employment insurance registration at Hello Work. Most of these can be filed online through e-Gov.
Where do we file when we hire a foreign national?
Status of residence at the Immigration Services Bureau; the notification of employment of foreign workers at Hello Work.
Jurisdictions checked against each office's official site on 21 October 2026. Offices merge and move: confirm on the official page before you file.