Japan Pension system for foreigners

I hear different information all the time about it. I got a 130000 yen (1300 dollar) bill for pension, went to the Yakusho and they said just pay as soon as you can. Then many people told me to not pay it.

What's the deal with this? What should I do? This was about a year ago by the way.

Thank you.

As long as you are a "resident" in Japan, you are supposed to pay into it, but here are the practical consideration.

- If you are planning on being and working in Japan only for a year or two, and then return to your home country for good, then some people might say ignore it. You need to dodge some notices from the city/ward hall, though.

- If you are planning on possibly staying for a longer time, you might just pay into it like all other residents of Japan. Also check if Japan and your home country have some kind of cooperation where the years you've paid into the Japanese system and the system of your country can be added together for your pension eligibility.

- In either case, after you leave Japan for good, there is a mechanism to get back in a lump-sum some of the contributions you've made. The procedure can be a bit cumbersome, but can be done.

- If you are a student in Japan with no income, you could use that fact to argue that you are not able to pay into the scheme. If this argument goes through, you might be able to get officially exempted from paying into the system.

in addition if you plan to pay but having difficulty to pay it one go, you can discuss with the cityhall for a payment schedule.

many japanese also do not pay the pesion, especially part-timers. heck even the mnister was caught with their pants down years ago for not paying into the pension.

the japan pension system for short term foreigner residence or cannot make the full 25 years payment, is a daylight robbery.

the so called lump-sum payment is only up to 3 years worth or less, provided you paid more than 6 months. just imagine YOUR pension money paid for 10 years, you decide to leave and you only entitle to lump-sum payment upto 3years worth of YOUR OWN money. the process can only start after you leave japan for good, with documents, can take from 6months to a year. also the limp-sum will be taxed 20% , but refundable and another paperworks and time. it's maybe a way to discourage people to claim it.

in my country, if you are foreigner paying into the pension scheme, you can get YOUR lump-sum pension payment in full amount you have paid, before your leave the country. also the amount you paid will be paid yearly dividend/interest.

Daylight robbery indeed.

As much as I like Japan this has been a shock when I learned of this system. Why has this not been rectified yet? This system is blatantly unjust and unfair.

Related to this, your child under 16 (?) is not eligible to be considered as dependent for tax purposes. The reason might be the child allowance given to children under 16 (?). But if your child is living in your home country you are not eligible for the said child allowance.
These two laws make Japan unjust and unfair towards its foreign workers.

now, the government starts to connect information among your residential status, actual address, actual working place, tax payments, and financial situation, etc.
if you don't need to stay in Japan, it is one way not to pay the pension.