Fire insurance for your apartment in Japan: what it covers and whether you can choose your own

Fire insurance for an apartment in Japan (火災保険, kasai hoken) is really a renters’ policy. It covers your belongings, damage to the apartment you must pay the landlord for, and usually damage you cause other people. It is commonly bought when you sign the lease. As of October 2026, one online policy costs ¥380 to ¥630 a month, and you can often buy your own instead of the agent’s, as long as it meets the lease’s requirements. Earthquakes are not covered without an add-on.

What does renters’ fire insurance cover in Japan?

MLIT’s Apartment Search Guidebook says it is common to take out damage insurance when you sign, to cover fire or water damage caused by the tenant. In practice a renters’ policy has three parts:

Some policies also pay for small repairs to the unit and for expenses such as replacing locks. Chubb’s renters’ policy, for example, lists key replacement costs (鍵取替え費用) among its expense benefits.

Why do I need cover for my own things?

Under Japan’s Act on Liability for Fire (失火責任法, 1899), the normal rule for compensating damage doesn’t apply to an accidental fire unless the person who caused it was grossly negligent. So if a fire starts next door through ordinary carelessness, your neighbour usually doesn’t have to pay for your belongings. Your own contents cover does.

The same law also limits what you owe neighbours for an accidental fire. Damage to the unit you rent is a separate matter between you and the landlord. That is what tenant liability cover is for.

How much is renters’ fire insurance in Japan?

Prices depend on how much contents cover you choose and the liability limits. Three published examples:

Mysurance’s own guidance on contents cover is ¥1-2 million for a single person, ¥3-4 million for two, ¥5-6 million for three and ¥7 million for four. Kakaku.com’s insurance site (価格.com保険) shows sample one-year plans at ¥4,000 and ¥6,870, both with ¥1 million contents and ¥20 million tenant liability.

Prices change. Get a quote for your own apartment and household.

Can I choose my own insurer instead of the agent’s?

Often, yes. Insurers sell renters’ policies directly to tenants:

• Mysurance’s policy is bought online. It issues no paper certificate. You download a contract confirmation (契約内容確認証) from your account and submit it to the property manager.
• Nisshin Fire launched an online-only renters’ policy in 2014. It noted that when you buy through your agent, you can only choose from the policies that agent handles.
• Kakaku.com’s insurance guide says you don’t have to take the policy the agent designates at signing.

But the lease comes first. Some leases or management companies set a minimum tenant liability amount, a policy period, or a proof deadline. Before you decline the agent’s policy:

1. Ask what cover the lease requires, especially the tenant liability amount.
2. Buy a policy that meets it, starting on or before your move-in date.
3. Send the certificate or contract confirmation to the management company.
4. Renew on time, so the cover the lease requires doesn’t lapse.

Can I get renters’ insurance in English?

This is the weak point for foreign residents. The general policies we checked, Mysurance and Chubb, have Japanese-only product pages, and Mysurance’s sign-up needs a credit card. We found no major insurer with a fully English sign-up for a general renters’ policy.

If you’re a student, the JEES Comprehensive Renters’ Insurance for Foreign Students (留学生住宅総合補償) has an English page. It is for students at partner schools, in principle with student (留学) residence status, and you apply through your school. It is underwritten by Tokio Marine & Nichido. It costs ¥4,000 a year or ¥8,000 for two years, and covers liability up to ¥50 million per accident. It also includes up to ¥300,000 of guarantor compensation, but it doesn’t cover your own belongings.

Otherwise, ask the agent to explain the policy they offer, line by line. Or ask a Japanese-speaking friend to help you compare an online policy against the lease’s requirements.

Before you sign

• Check the tenant liability amount the lease requires.
• Choose contents cover that matches what you own.
• Consider earthquake insurance: it can only be added to a fire policy.
• Check whether you already have personal liability elsewhere, for example through car insurance. Mysurance’s Slim plan exists for that case.
• Keep the policy number and the insurer’s accident line. Call the insurer first if something happens.

Related guides

• The full process and initial costs: renting an apartment in Japan as a foreigner
• The other company you’ll sign with: guarantor companies compared
• Finding an agent who works in English: foreigner-friendly real estate agents
• Paying premiums: credit cards for foreigners