By Jason L. Gatewood
If you've been under a rock, then perhaps you don't know that starting from April 2010, a slew of changes to Japan's visa and immigration laws will start to go into effect. In order to create a more centralized control over immigration, the Misistry of Justice will be enacting such laws as the creation of an Immgration Card with an IC chip embedded inside to replace the "Gaijin Cards" handed out by your local government offices. This new card will hold data such as passport validity, visa status, current residence and current employer. Also starting at the same time, visa renewal will dependent on payment of all residency taxes and also enrollment in one of Japan's national health insurance programs. This one requirement is a point of contention as a lot of foreign workers here in Nagoya and elsewhere across Japan aren't either properly informed of the requirement to enroll in national healthcare, are unable to enroll due to their employer's unwillingness to enroll them, or their employer flat out misinforming them.
Rumors abound, and sometimes it seems there is no one in the corner of a stranger in a strange land working under different, sometimes strange working conditions. However, there is the General Union, a legal union in Japan, organized to fight for the rights of all foreign workers, the majority of which are Language teachers in public, private, and conversational schools. The union has been spearheading the crusade to make more of these businesses and organizations conform to the same standards as most employers must hold when employing Japanese citizens. I had a chance to sit down with the General Union’s General Secretary, Dennis Tesolat, in an attempt to get some clearer answers on this issue.
RAN: Can you confirm that health insurance will be mandatory for visa renewal?
Tesolat: That is correct. The General Union (GU) held talks with immigration officials this summer and they confirmed that to have a visa renewed it will be necessary to present proof of enrollment in an “approved” insurance scheme. And in fact, there is anecdotal evidence that in some regions, immigration is not waiting until April. We have heard a number of direct reports of people needing to show proof of enrollment already.
RAN: I've heard the same thing-- I went to the immigration office to renew my visa recently, and I was told that I "may" have to show my insurance card when I pick up the new visa. I went back 2 weeks later to get the stamp, but no one asked to see anything insurance related. But it's coming soon, since they gave me a warning, right? So when you say an “approved” insurance scheme, what exactly do you mean?
Tesolat: Under Japanese law residents must be enrolled in either Shakai Hoken (Employees’ Health and Pension Insurance) or Kokumin Kenko Hoken (National Health Insurance). Until recently, the government has mostly turned a blind eye to this when it comes to foreign residents.
RAN: There are a lot of foreign residents enrolled in private insurance schemes. Will that still be acceptable?
Tesolat: No it won’t be. Immigration officials were quite firm on this point. The law only allows these insurances to be sold as a supplement to either Kokumin Kenko Hoken or Shakai Hoken.
RAN: I know more than a few people will be very surprised to hear that; many of us are told that private insurance is cheaper and still just as accepted. But now, no more right?
Tesolat: There has been much debate in the foreign community regarding the benefits of Shakai Hoken versus Kokumin Kenko Hoken versus private insurance. The new immigration guideline ends this debate.
RAN: So what will happen if someone goes down to Immigration with only a private insurance scheme? Will they end up at Centrair on a plane back to their home country 6 hours later?
Tesolat: Immigration assured us that they are not looking to use this as an excuse to revoke visas.They tell us the process will be much like when you a missing a document for the renewal process; you'll be given a short period – maybe 10 days – to produce evidence of proper enrollment before the visa is issued.
RAN: So where does that leave those without Kokumin Kenko Hoken or Shakai Hoken? You get the shaft?
Tesolat: Just like Japanese citizens, foreign residents have no other option.
RAN: OK so how do people get enrolled? Is it going to be the same kind of run-around like getting the "gaijin card", or a driver's license?
Tesolat: For Kokumin Kenko Hoken it is just a trip to the local city office (ward office, city hall, town hall) but there is a danger in that. Depending on your period of residence, you could be hit with a back bill of up to 2 years premiums. And there is an added danger. It is also law that you be enrolled in the National Pension. Enforcement is still in its infancy but we hear credible stories of people getting back-bills for the pension too.
RAN: Wait... So even though people were told that it was perfectly OK to tote private insurance, just to get on the correct system, you'd face a penalty of paying BACK BILLS? That makes no sense. If you didn't wind up in the hospital, why'd you have pay it backward? I have heard that Shakai Hoken is a better scheme. How do people get enrolled on that?
Tesolat: You’re right. Shakai Hoken is a much better scheme and is usually cheaper as the company has to pay at least half the premiums. But it is up to your employer to enroll you. You cannot enroll yourself.
RAN: How do you qualify for it and how do you get your employer to enroll you? If it's compulsory, it should be automatic right?
Tesolat: Basically the law says that barring a few exceptions, all employees have to be enrolled. But again, up until now, this law hasn’t been enforced much. The General Union recognized the problem a number of years back and began a campaign for a voluntary, gradual enrollment of all foreigner language teachers into the scheme. We were successful at two of the larger language school chains and a number of the smaller ones. One national chain rolled out a system where teachers could choose from two different contracts, with one offering shakai hoken for slightly increased hours and salary. In recent talks they told us they expect many more teachers to choose this option with the impending changes in April.
Another nationwide chain eventually implemented a contract with all teachers being enrolled. They also increased monthly salaries by about 20,000 yen to cover some of the costs.
RAN: What is the union doing about companies that don’t offer Shakai Hoken? Isn't that against the law since all companies must offer it?
Tesolat: There are a lot of companies that blatantly break the law and others that skirt around it. ALT dispatch companies, especially in Tokai, are a prime example of this. But I won’t name names as we want to give them time to fix the problem before the April deadline.
One of the measures we are taking is talking to the Boards of Educations and demanding that they take responsibility for seeing that teachers are enrolled. We are receiving some very positive responses and some negative responses. Our union members want enrollment and if it doesn’t happen soon we will be taking legal action against some companies and also naming the Boards of Education in the complaints.
RAN: What about the pension question I had earlier? Since a lot of foreign workers aren't going to retire here in Japan, is there a possible refund on this part of the hoken system? What are the breakdowns of the refund, if any at all?
Tesolat: First let me point out that employers’ often don't tell employees that the pension refund under the Shakai Hoken system is significantly better that that under the Kokumin Nenkin pension.
RAN: I would say they neglect to talk about the pension refund aspect of the entire system at all, but please continue...
Tesolat: One other aspect employers fail to mention is the Shakai Hoken system offers 66% salary protection if you cannot work because of injury or illness. Most people fresh of the plane don’t think insurance is important but every year we deal with a number of people who end up sick or injured and without insurance. These private insurances aren’t sufficient and there are many cases of people being denied coverage once their private insurance runs out. They can’t pay their hospital bills and they don’t have an income.
RAN: Speaking of which, I know we agreed to include your own story in the interview but I have been hesitant to raise it. Can you explain to the readers why the interview is taking place here in this hospital?
Tesolat: It’s ironic that after fighting for shakai hoken for more than 5 years I may well become the new poster boy for our campaign and I thank my lucky stars that my own company obeyed the law and enrolled me.
To cut a long story short, I had a few hours of intense back pain and then suddenly I couldn’t move below the waist. I was rushed to hospital and had spinal surgery that day. It’s a rare condition and seems to be congenital. The final prognosis isn’t known at this point but I am slowly starting to recover feeling and a small amount of movement. I am receiving intensive rehabilitation and my intention is to be able to walk out of here.
I have a young family to care for, so the salary protection is a life saver. Without it I might end up losing everything. And if I had had private insurance, most likely they'd withdraw coverage after 6 months. And like I said before, we see this all the time – I’m just one of many.
RAN: You’ve put a personal face on the story for me Dennis. Let’s hope for a speedy recovery. I hope we can talk again, because there are a lot more questions my readers are sure to raise.
Learn more about you and your employer’s obligations. The General Union Nagoya is holding an open seminar on Sunday, 1 November from 5:00pm to 6:30pm at their office, a short 10 minute walk southeast of Nagoya station. Please see http://www.generalunion.org/tokaimap for a map and details.
[of course this has passed, but you can find out more about the General Union at www.generalunion.org -Ed.]
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