Disability pension (障害年金) for foreign residents: who qualifies

Yes, foreign residents can receive Japan’s disability pension (障害年金). The Japan Pension Service’s conditions do not include nationality or visa type. You need a Grade 1 or 2 disability, a first doctor visit while you were in the pension system, and a premium record that passes a test. In FY2026 the Disability Basic Pension is ¥847,300 a year for Grade 2, as of October 2026. What matters is your pension record.

What does the disability pension pay?

There are two layers, as with the old-age pension. The first is the Disability Basic Pension (障害基礎年金). The second is the Disability Employees’ Pension (障害厚生年金), which only people who were employees can add.

Two details change the numbers:

• Born on or before 1 April 1956: the basic amounts are ¥1,056,125 (Grade 1) and ¥844,900 (Grade 2).
• Children: ¥243,800 a year each for the first and second child, ¥81,300 for the third and later. A child counts until the first 31 March after their 18th birthday, or under 20 with a qualifying disability grade.

For Grades 1 and 2, the Employees’ Pension adds ¥243,800 a year if you support a spouse under 65. If you have less than 300 months in the Employees’ Pension, the calculation treats it as 300 months.

A lump sum called the Disability Allowance (障害手当金) exists for a disability lighter than Grade 3, if you recover within five years of your first visit.

Who qualifies for a disability pension in Japan?

You must meet three conditions for the Basic Pension.

1. The right grade. The law sets Grade 1 and Grade 2 in a disability table.
2. The right first visit. The date you first saw a doctor or dentist for the illness or injury (初診日, the initial examination date) must fall in one of three periods. You were covered by the National Pension. Or you were under 20 and not in the system. Or you were 60 to 64, not covered and living in Japan.
3. A passing premium record. See the next section.

The Employees’ Pension needs your first visit to fall while you were an Employees’ Pension member, and Grades 1 to 3 qualify.

You can claim from the disability certification date (障害認定日). That is normally 1 year 6 months after the first visit, or the day your condition settles if that is earlier. If you were below Grade 2 then but get worse before age 65, you can still claim later. Kashiwa City, a secondary source, describes this rule.

What is the payment test, and what if I missed months?

The Japan Pension Service checks your record on the day before your first visit. You pass with either:

• Two-thirds: at least two-thirds of your months in the public pension, up to 2 months before the month of your first visit, were paid or exempt.
• One clean year: you were under 65 at your first visit and paid or were exempt for 12 consecutive months, ending up to 2 months before the month of your first visit.

The Employees’ Pension page applies this one-year rule only to first visits on or before the end of March 2036. The Basic Pension pages state no end date.

Exempt months count as covered. So do months approved under the Student Special Payment System (学生納付特例). If you cannot pay, apply for an exemption rather than leaving months unpaid. Read our Japanese pension guide for foreigners.

There is no payment test if your first visit was before age 20. A person who became disabled before 20 can get the basic pension from age 20 at Grade 1 or 2. The payment can be fully or half suspended depending on your own income. We could not confirm the income limits.

How do I claim in Japan if I don’t speak Japanese?

Apply at your city office with the “Application for Pension: Disability Basic Pension under National Pension” form. If your first visit fell in a period when you were a “Category III insured person”, go to a Japan Pension Service branch office or pension consultation center. Living outside Japan, contact the branch for your last Japanese address.

Bring or prepare:

• Proof of your Basic Pension Number (the notice or your pension handbook)
• A certified extract of your family registry
• A doctor’s diagnosis certificate
• A report on your medical history and how the disability affects work and daily life
• Other documents for your case; the office will tell you

Anything not in Japanese needs a Japanese translation that shows the translator’s name. A foreign hospital’s certificate is covered by this rule.

For help in your language, the Japan Pension Service runs interpreted phone lines in English, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, Nepali and Burmese. English hours are Monday 8:30 to 19:00, Tuesday to Friday 8:30 to 17:15, and the second Saturday of the month 9:30 to 16:00. The interpreter is free, but the call is not. Its page lists 0570-05-1165 for benefit claims and 0570-003-004 for National Pension questions. It does not say whether disability claims are covered, so ask at the start.

What about my visa, and what if I leave Japan?

We found no official source that links a disability pension to your status of residence. For visa or permanent residency questions, ask a licensed immigration and administrative specialist (行政書士) or the immigration bureau. For the general rules, see permanent residency requirements.

The bigger trap is the lump-sum withdrawal payment (脱退一時金). The Japan Pension Service says you cannot claim it if you have ever had a right to a disability pension, even if payments have stopped. If you have a short record and plan to leave, learn this before you choose. See pension refund and the leaving Japan checklist.

If your home country has a social security agreement with Japan, you can file for Japanese benefits through your country’s institution. We could not confirm how payments work for people who live abroad.

More guides

• The Japanese pension for foreigners: the premiums that decide your payment test.
• Unemployment benefits for foreigners
• Child allowance for foreigners
• National Health Insurance for foreigners