Health insurance and pension
Everyone living in Japan has public health insurance and, from age 20, is in the pension system. This lesson covers the cards, the payment slips and the changes you make when you start or leave a job. It uses ～たいんですが from Everyday Japanese 3, and clinic and office staff use polite set phrases. Tap to hear any line. The bar at the bottom plays a hands-free drill for walking.
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24 insurance and pension words
Each card shows a word from letters, forms or the clinic counter, with a sentence you'd hear or say. Five are from earlier lessons.
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What you'll hear and read
Questions from the city office and the clinic, and words printed on payment slips and pension letters.
| You'll hear or see | It means | Answer or do |
|---|
- Two kinds of health insurance. If you work for a company, you're on its . Otherwise you join () at the city office.
- The card has changed. New paper insurance cards stopped in December 2024. Use your My Number card (), or the sent to people without one.
- Pension too. Everyone aged 20 to 59 is in . Company employees are also in through work, which pays their part too.
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Three patterns to use today
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Say it in Japanese
Say each one out loud before you reveal the answer. Getting close counts.