Under the 2025 (Reiwa 7) Pension System Reform Act (Act No. 74 of 2025), the wage requirement that scheduled wages be at least JPY 88,000 per month, one of the conditions for short-time workers to join health insurance and employees' pension insurance, was abolished on October 1, 2026. Other requirements, such as scheduled weekly working hours, remain.Even part-time and casual workers can join their company's health insurance and employees' pension insurance in some cases. One of the conditions for that, "earning at least JPY 88,000 a month," was dropped on October 1, 2026.
Coverage requirements that remain after October (short-time workers)
○Applies: Scheduled working hours of 20 or more per week
○Applies: Employer has 51 or more employees
○Applies: Not a student
○Applies: Expected to be employed for more than 2 months
×Does not apply: Scheduled wages of JPY 88,000 or more per month
What changed and what did not
Until September 2026From October 2026
Pay conditionJPY 88,000 a month or moreNo condition
Working hours20 or more hours a week20 or more hours a week
In the 210th Short-Term Economic Survey of Enterprises in Japan (Tankan, September survey) released by the Bank of Japan on October 1, 2026, the business conditions DI for all industries ("favorable" minus "unfavorable", in percentage points) was 30 for large enterprises, 24 for medium-sized enterprises and 15 for small enterprises. Compared with the latest values in the June survey, these are higher by 1, 2 and 2 points respectively.The Bank of Japan holds a big survey four times a year, asking companies across the country, "How is the economy right now?" In the results announced on October 1, more companies answered "good" than "bad." However, the answers about the future were somewhat more cautious.
Read more →National Tax Agency (NTA)Withholding, year-end adjustment & payFor the 2026 (Reiwa 8) year-end adjustment conducted on or after December 1, 2026
On October 1, 2026 (Reiwa 8), the NTA released the 2026 version of its software for preparing year-end adjustment deduction declarations (Nencho Software). The page states that it supports the 2026 year-end adjustment conducted on or after December 1, 2026. Smartphone versions are available from app stores, and PC versions from the page.The forms you hand in to your company for the year-end adjustment can also be made with the NTA's free software. This year's version came out on October 1. You can use it for year-end adjustments done on or after December 1, and you can get it for a phone or a PC.
Read more →Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)Real estateFrom October 1, 2026 (Reiwa 8)
MLIT has published, as the version effective October 1, 2026 (Reiwa 8), guidelines on how the Building Lots and Buildings Transaction Business Act applies to housing leaseback transactions (selling a home and paying rent to the buyer to keep living there). In addition to the sale terms, rental terms such as rent, contract period, termination and repair costs must be disclosed; knowingly failing to do so conflicts with Article 47, item 1 of the Act.Leaseback is a way to sell your home, receive the money, and then pay rent to the company that bought it so you can keep living in the same home. But some people later say, "the rent was higher than I thought" or "I was charged a lot of money when I stopped". So rules were put together for real estate companies to explain important things properly.
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