On November 2, 2026, the National Tax Agency announced a fix for a defect in the e-Tax software. The version updated on September 26, 2026 displayed some forms incorrectly, and the fix was applied at around 8:30 a.m. on November 2. The agency asks users to download the e-Tax software again before using it. It also states that filings and applications made while the defect was present contain no errors in their contents.When companies and individuals report their taxes to the government, they can send the papers over the internet instead of carrying them in. The free software for this, called the e-Tax software, had a bug after its September 26 update: some forms were not shown in the right shape. The National Tax Agency fixed it on the morning of November 2 and asked users to download it again and swap it in. It also says that reports already sent are not wrong because of this.
From the defect to the fix (as stated in the notice)
September 26, 2026The e-Tax software was updated; this version displayed some forms incorrectly
Around 8:30 a.m. on November 2, 2026The fix was applied
After the fixUsers download the e-Tax software again before using it
What happened and what to do
1. What happenedThe software updated on September 26 sometimes showed forms in the wrong shape
2. What the government didIt released a fixed version on the morning of November 2
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)Grants & subsidiesApplications must arrive by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 19, 2026 (Reiwa 8)
On November 2, MLIT announced the start of the second call for applications under the FY2026 Logistics Efficiency Promotion Project (a subsidy program). The second call adds two forms of support for relay trucking operations based on an approved relay transport implementation plan: (1) support for the cost of drawing up the plan, and (2) support for first-year operating costs of an approved project. Applicants must be a council made up of shippers, logistics operators and other parties involved in logistics. Applications must arrive by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 19.When freight travels a long distance by truck, one driver does not have to take it all the way. Instead, the load can be handed over to another driver partway along the route. This is called relay transport. On November 2, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism opened the second round of a program that pays part of the cost of such efforts. Applications can be made by a council, a group formed by the companies that ship goods and the companies that carry them. Applications close at 5 p.m. on November 19.
Read more →Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)Social insurance & pensionsNovember 30, 2026 (Reiwa 8), Pension Day
On November 2, MHLW announced that November 30 each year is designated Pension Day, and that the Japan Pension Service treats November as Pension Month. The aim is to get people to use Nenkin Net and similar services to check their pension records and the projected amount of benefits they will receive. During the period there will be awareness efforts using posters, publicity on websites, mobile pension consultation services around the country, and the call for entries and awards for the My Pension essay contest.A pension is money you receive when you get older, or when illness or injury stops you from working. How much you receive depends on the record of how much you have paid in contributions. The government has designated November 30 of each year as Pension Day, and the Japan Pension Service treats November as Pension Month, encouraging people to look at their records. Using the online service called Nenkin Net, you can see your own record and the amount you are expected to receive.
Read more →Japan Health Insurance Association (Kyokai Kenpo)Social insurance & pensionsFrom 9:00 a.m. on November 7 to 11:00 p.m. on November 8, 2026 (Reiwa 8)
On November 2, 2026, the Japan Health Insurance Association (Kyokai Kenpo) announced that its information service will be suspended temporarily for system maintenance. The suspension runs from 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 7, 2026 to 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 8, 2026. During that period, services such as inquiries into medical expense data and the internet service for lifestyle-disease prevention health checkups, including data downloads, cannot be used. The association asks for users' understanding of the inconvenience.Most people who work at a company in Japan belong to a health insurance scheme called Kyokai Kenpo. It offers services that let a company look up medical expense data over the internet or receive the results of health checkups as data. These services will stop from 9:00 in the morning on November 7 until 11:00 at night on November 8. The reason is maintenance of the computer systems. Nothing can be done during that time, so the work has to be finished before or after it.
Read more →Japan Health Insurance AssociationSocial insurance & pensionsMedical care, dispensing of medicines and home-visit nursing from July 28, 2026 (Reiwa 8) through February 28, 2027 (Reiwa 9)
On November 2, the Japan Health Insurance Association announced a waiver of patient co-payments at medical institutions in connection with the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake. Insured persons and their dependents who, as of July 28, 2026, had their address in a municipality covered by the Disaster Relief Act, and who fall into one of the listed categories of hardship such as damage to their home, or the death, disappearance, business closure or loss of employment of the main breadwinner, do not have to pay at the counter if they state that they qualify. The waiver applies to medical care, dispensing of medicines and home-visit nursing from July 28, 2026 through February 28, 2027.When you see a doctor, you normally pay part of the cost at the counter. People whose homes were destroyed in the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake, or whose main earner died or lost their job, do not have to make that payment. This applies to people insured by the Japan Health Insurance Association, and it covers consultations, medicines and home-visit nursing received from July 28, 2026 through February 28, 2027. The announcement says it is enough to tell the hospital counter that you qualify for the waiver.
Read more →Bank of JapanEconomic news (Japan & world)
On November 2, 2026 at 2:00 p.m., the Bank of Japan published the full text, including background explanation, of the Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices (October 2026) decided at the Monetary Policy Meeting held on October 29 and 30. This article covers the sections on the factors that determine the underlying trend in prices and on risk factors. The macro output gap, which reflects the utilisation of labour and capital, has remained slightly positive and is projected to stay positive at around the current level. At the same time, partly because the pace of increase in labour participation by women and older people has slowed, labour market conditions are tighter than the output gap suggests, and with firms in labour-intensive industries increasingly facing labour supply constraints, upward pressure on wages and prices is more likely to emerge than the output gap would imply.On November 2 the Bank of Japan published the full version, including the detailed explanation, of the October report on the outlook for the economy and prices. In it the Bank says that the output gap, a measure of how busy the country's factories and shops are, is only slightly positive. Even so, the shortage of workers is stronger than that level of busyness would suggest, and it is especially hard to find staff for jobs that need many hands. For that reason, the report says, pay and prices are more likely to rise.
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