One of Japan's two main statutory health insurance schemes, covering people who are not covered through an employer based Employees' Health Insurance plan, including the self employed, retirees and farmers, administered locally by municipal governments through ward or city offices that issue insurance cards and premium bills. Its roots reach back to a 1922 law that first took effect for laborers in 1927 and was extended to farmers by 1938, and the current National Health Insurance system was established in 1961, the year Japan reached universal health coverage; enrollment is compulsory for citizens, permanent residents and foreign nationals holding a visa of three months or longer. Premiums, split into ten annual installments, are calculated from a household's taxable income and composition across three categories, basic coverage, elderly support for those 75 and older, and nursing care, and patients pay copayments of 10 to 30 percent of costs depending on income.
Facts
Launch YearSourced to the subject's own account Program StatusSourced to the subject's own accountActive statutory program, defined by the National Health Care Act of 1958 1 Sponsoring BodySourced to the subject's own accountLocal municipal governments in Japan 1 Target PopulationSourced to the subject's own accountPeople not eligible for employment-based health insurance in Japan 1 Health GoalSourced to the subject's own accountMandatory enrollment of all Japanese citizens and qualifying residents in National Health Insurance or Employees' Health Insurance 1 Geographic ScopeSourced to the subject's own account Program status (class)Sourced to the subject's own account Classification
Program KindSourced to the subject's own accountHealth Insurance or Financing Program 1 Connections
Associated With
Delivers Practice
Entity-backed identity for the program-kind enum value this public health program already carries, resolved to a health practice by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The program-kind fact itself stays on the program unchanged.
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Asia, found in there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: National Health Insurance (Japan)
WikipediaHistory section, second paragraph
managed by local municipal governments
Lead paragraph, first sentence
is one of the two major statutory types of insurance programs available in Japan.
Lead paragraph, second sentence
designed for people who are not eligible to be members of any employment-based health insurance program
Lead paragraph, third sentence
all Japanese citizens, permanent residents, and any non-Japanese residing in Japan with a visa lasting three months or longer are required to be enrolled in either National Health Insurance or Employees' Health Insurance
Lead paragraph, fourth sentence
It is defined by the National Health Care Act of 1958.
- Wikipedia 'National Health Insurance (Japan)': 'is one of the two major statutory types of insurance programs available in Japan'; checked 2026-09-27.
Program classification, entity description sentence
One of Japan's two main statutory health insurance schemes, covering people who are not covered through an employer based Employees' Health Insurance plan, including the self employed, retirees and farmers, administered locally by municipal governments through ward or city offices that issue insurance cards and premium bills.
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