On October 19, 2026 (Reiwa 8), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare issued a public notice revising the Guidelines for Maintaining and Promoting the Health of Workers in Workplaces, which rest on Article 70-2, paragraph 1 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act (Public Notice of Guidelines for Health Maintenance and Promotion No. 13). Alongside primary prevention, which has centred on preventing lifestyle-related disease, the guidelines now clearly position secondary prevention as a health maintenance and promotion measure: encouraging workers to undergo screening and detailed examinations for cancer, women's health issues, dental disease, osteoporosis and eye disease. The notice applies from the same day, October 19, 2026.Companies have rules about helping the people who work for them keep from getting ill. On October 19, 2026, the government updated those rules. Until now the main idea was to live in a way that keeps you from getting ill. From now on, finding illness early and treating it early is included too. Encouraging workers to get checked for cancer, for health issues that only women have, and for their teeth, bones and eyes is now written down as something companies should do.
What the revision writes into the guidelines
The previous guidelinesThe guidelines from October 19, 2026
Central ideaPrimary prevention centred on preventing lifestyle-related diseasePrimary prevention plus secondary prevention as a health promotion measure
Screening for cancer, dental disease, osteoporosis and eye diseaseNot clearly positioned in the guidelinesEncouraging screening and detailed examinations is positioned
Women's health issuesNot clearly positioned in the guidelinesEncouraging examinations for dysmenorrhoea, menopausal disorders and the like is positioned
Coordination with medical insurersNot written into the guidelinesCoordination efforts are written in
Balancing treatment and workNot written into the guidelinesSupport for balancing the two is written in
How a company helps with health, step by step
1. Take careKeep from getting ill through food and exercise
2. Find it earlyEncourage checkups for cancer, teeth, bones and eyes
3. Treat it earlyEncourage detailed examinations and treatment
4. Keep workingHelp people keep working while receiving treatment
National Tax Agency (NTA) / Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)Coming changes (preview)Scheduled (decided)From October 2026 (Reiwa 8) to February 1, 2027 (Reiwa 9)
This article lines up, in date order, the changes from October to year-end 2026 (Reiwa 8) whose effective dates and deadlines can be confirmed in official materials. From October 1, the deduction rate under the invoice transitional measure becomes 70%, and from salaries paid on or after December 1 the revised income requirements for dependents apply. The withholding deadline for year-end adjustment is January 12, 2027 and the statutory report deadline is February 1.Here are the changes to company accounting and pay from October to the end of 2026, in date order. On October 1 a tax rate rule changes, and in December comes the year-end adjustment. The deadline to pay the year-end adjustment tax is January 12, 2027, after the new year begins.
Read more →Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)Coming changes (preview)Under consideration (not final)Request for the FY2027 (Reiwa 9) tax reform (not yet decided)
For the FY2027 (Reiwa 9) tax reform, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has requested a review of the threshold amounts used when acquiring depreciable assets. Currently, assets under JPY 100,000 can be fully deducted when acquired, and assets of JPY 100,000 to under JPY 200,000 can be deducted in equal installments over 3 years. The request is to review thresholds left unchanged for many years in light of rising prices.When a company buys equipment, the rules change depending on the price. For example, under JPY 100,000 can be counted as an expense in the year it is bought. METI has asked to rethink these price lines because prices have risen. Nothing has been decided yet.
Read more →Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)Coming changes (preview)Under consideration (not final)Request for the FY2027 (Reiwa 9) tax reform (not yet decided)
For the FY2027 (Reiwa 9) tax reform, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has requested a 2-year extension with review of the SME management strengthening tax system, an extension with review of the SME investment promotion tax system, and a review of the wage-increase requirement plus a 2-year extension of the fixed asset tax special provision tied to advanced-equipment introduction plans. All are requests only; none has been decided.There are several tax perks for small companies that buy new machines. METI has asked to keep them for about 2 more years and to make them easier to use. But nothing has been decided yet.
Read more →Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)Coming changes (preview)Under consideration (not final)Request for the FY2027 (Reiwa 9) tax reform (not yet decided)
For the FY2027 (Reiwa 9) tax reform, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has requested a comprehensive study across income tax and corporate tax, taking into account challenges of small businesses including sole proprietors such as business succession and owner pay, the tax balance among sole proprietors, family companies and salaried workers, and better bookkeeping including wider use of blue return filing. It is a request to study, not a concrete reform proposal.Someone who runs a shop alone and someone who set up a company for the same work have slightly different ways of calculating tax. METI has asked for a study of that gap. No concrete new rule has been decided yet.
Read more →Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)Coming changes (preview)Under consideration (not final)Request for the FY2027 (Reiwa 9) tax reform (not yet decided)
For the FY2027 (Reiwa 9) tax reform, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has requested a 3-year extension of the wage-increase promotion tax system for small and medium-sized enterprises, a change of the increase test from total payroll to average pay per employee, and a review of the wage-increase thresholds. This is only a request; it has not been decided whether it will be adopted.There is a system that lowers the taxes of companies that raise pay. One government ministry, METI, has asked to keep it for 3 more years and to change how it is judged. But nothing has been decided yet.
Read more →Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC)Trade rules & company lawThe patrol is carried out on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 (Reiwa 8), from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
On October 19, 2026 (Reiwa 8), the Japan Fair Trade Commission announced that three bodies, the Chugoku District Transport Bureau, the JFTC Chugoku Office and the Yamaguchi Labour Bureau, will jointly carry out a shipper patrol. It runs on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., covering the cities of Yamaguchi, Ube, Hofu, Sanyo-Onoda and Shunan in Yamaguchi Prefecture. To help head off violations of the Toritekiho and acts that cause violations of the revised logistics act, the bodies will visit the sales offices and logistics sites of shipper businesses for interviews and awareness-raising activities.The company that has goods carried by truck is called the shipper. Government offices are going out to see whether shippers are making unreasonable demands of the companies that do the carrying. It happens on October 21, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., in five cities in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Three offices, the Japan Fair Trade Commission, the Chugoku District Transport Bureau and the Yamaguchi Labour Bureau, will go round together, listen to what people say and tell them the rules.
Read more →Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)Coming changes (preview)Under consideration (not final)Subcommittee meeting: Monday, October 26, 2026 (Reiwa 8), 10:00-12:00
On October 19, 2026 (Reiwa 8), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that the 93rd Subcommittee on Employment Environment and Equal Treatment of the Labour Policy Council will be held on Monday, October 26, 2026 from 10:00 to 12:00. There is a single agenda item: "support for balancing work and childcare". The Labour Policy Council is where reviews of labour legislation are discussed, but what was published this time is a meeting notice, and it does not state what will change or how. Applications to observe close at noon on October 23.There is a government meeting about how companies should support people who work while raising children. On October 19, 2026, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that this meeting would be held from 10 in the morning on October 26. There is only one topic: "support for balancing work and childcare". What will change has not been decided yet.
Read more →National Tax Agency (NTA) / Japan Fair Trade CommissionComing changes (preview)Scheduled (decided)January 1 to March 31, 2027 (Reiwa 9)
For income arising on or after January 1, 2027 (Reiwa 9), the defense special income tax is created and the special reconstruction income tax rate is cut. The e-Tax filing threshold for statutory reports also changes from January 2027, followed by a tax-inclusive price display exception for food and beverages from February 1 and the end of exchange of notes and checks at electronic clearing houses on March 31.From January to March 2027, the way tax is taken from pay, shop price tags and the use of promissory notes start to change. A new tax, the defense special income tax, is added on January 1, but the reconstruction part shrinks, so the total share stays the same as now.
Read more →National Tax Agency (NTA) / Japan Fair Trade Commission / Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)Coming changes (preview)Scheduled (decided)From April 1, 2027 (Reiwa 9) to October 2027
For 2 years from April 1, 2027 (Reiwa 9), the consumption tax rate on food and beverages becomes 1% (national and local combined). On the same April 1, the payment notice takes effect and interim returns for the defense special corporate tax begin, and in October social insurance coverage of short-time workers extends to companies with 36 to 50 employees.For 2 years from April 1, 2027, consumption tax on food becomes 1%. On the same day a rule starts that payment must be made within 60 days of receiving the goods. In October, the companies where people working short hours, such as part-timers, can join company insurance expand to companies with 36 to 50 employees.
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