Earthquake insurance (地震保険) for renters and owners who are foreign residents

Earthquake insurance (地震保険, jishin hoken) pays for damage from earthquakes, eruptions and the tsunamis they cause, which fire insurance does not cover. As of October 2026 you cannot buy it alone. You add it to a fire policy, set at 30% to 50% of the fire amount, up to ¥50 million for a building and ¥10 million for belongings. If you rent, you can insure your belongings only: the landlord owns the building. None of the official pages we read mention nationality or visa status as a condition.

What does earthquake insurance cover?

The Ministry of Finance (財務省) says it covers fire, destruction (損壊), burial (埋没) and washing away (流失) caused directly or indirectly by an earthquake, an eruption, or a tsunami from either. It applies to homes and the household goods (家財) inside them.

Not covered:

• Buildings used only as a factory or office.
• Any single item or set worth over ¥300,000, such as jewelry, precious metals and antiques. Cash, securities, stamps and cars are also excluded.
• Damage from intentional acts, gross negligence or law violations, and from war.
• Loss or theft during the earthquake.
• Damage arising more than 10 days after the day following the quake.

Fire caused by an earthquake is not paid by your fire insurance either. See our guide to renters’ fire insurance for what that policy does cover.

Can renters buy it?

Yes, for belongings. The Ministry of Finance’s April 2026 slides say rental apartments are insurable, but only the owner can insure the building. A tenant can take the household-goods part alone. The insurance association confirms that building and belongings are separate contracts.

That means a tenant needs two things in order: a fire policy with contents cover, then earthquake cover attached to it. Your amount is 30% to 50% of the contents amount on the fire policy. A ¥4 million contents policy gives ¥1.2 million to ¥2 million of earthquake cover. The most you can have is ¥10 million.

If you own your home (for example a condo, or a house bought with a mortgage), you can insure the building and the contents, and the building limit is ¥50 million.

How are payouts decided?

Payouts do not follow your receipts. The insurer assigns a damage level and pays a fixed share of the earthquake sum insured:

Each payout is capped at the actual value (時価額) share of what was lost. These shares apply to policies starting on or after January 1, 2017. For a building, flooding above the floor or more than 45 cm above ground can count as partial loss. Household goods are graded by the damage to their total value.

You can spend the money on anything: rebuilding, loan payments, living costs or moving. The Ministry of Finance notes there is no flat condolence payment, and warns about scams after quakes.

Even in the worst case the cover is partial. Expect it to help you restart, not to replace everything.

How much does it cost?

The premium depends on the prefecture and structure of the building. The Ministry of Finance gives these annual examples for each ¥10 million insured, with no discount, for policies starting on or after October 1, 2022:

Scale that down to your amount. As a rough one-year sum, before discounts: ¥1.2 million to ¥2 million of cover in a steel or concrete building costs about ¥876 to ¥1,460 in the lowest zone, and about ¥3,300 to ¥5,500 in Tokyo. Your quote will differ, so ask for one.

Multi-year terms of 2 to 5 years are priced at 1.90, 2.85, 3.75 and 4.70 times the one-year premium.

Is it cheaper at another insurer?

Not on the base rate. The rating organization (損害保険料率算出機構) says all its member insurers currently use its standard rate, and that the rate includes no profit, because the scheme is run jointly by the government and insurers. So comparing insurers will not change the earthquake premium much. What you can change is the discount and the term.

Discounts

You can use one of these. They cannot be combined:

For an apartment, ask the management company or agent for the building’s construction year and any grade certificate. Ask which proof the insurer needs for a discount.

How to add it

1. Check your fire policy has contents cover. Earthquake cover attaches to it.
2. Ask your agent, or the insurer you choose, to add earthquake insurance. It can be added partway through the fire policy.
3. Pick the amount (30% to 50% of the contents amount) and the term.
4. Give the building’s prefecture, structure and construction year so the right rate and discount apply.

People buy it through the agent at lease signing, directly from an insurer, or through a comparison site, according to one secondary guide. That guide lists the usual items to have ready: residence card or passport, the lease, and building details. Confirm the list with your insurer.

Foreign residents: what to check

• Visa and PR. The official pages we read set no nationality or visa condition. We could not confirm insurer-level rules, so ask.
• Language. We found no English official page, and the ministry and association pages are Japanese only. We could not confirm English sign-up or claim support. Ask before you buy.
• Leaving Japan. Ask the insurer how to cancel and whether unused premium is returned. We could not confirm this.
• Tax. The ministry says an earthquake insurance premium deduction exists, up to ¥50,000 for income tax and ¥25,000 for resident tax. We did not confirm who qualifies. Ask the tax office or a tax accountant (税理士). Year-end adjustment is where employees usually claim it: see year-end adjustment and tax returns for foreigners.

Do you need it?

The government reinsures the scheme. The total payout limit for one quake is ¥12 trillion (April 2026). The largest payout recorded as of March 2025, for the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, was ¥1,289.7 billion.

Whether to buy is your call: compare the premium with what a total loss of your belongings would cost you. For preparing in other ways, see earthquakes and disasters in Japan.

This is general information, not individual insurance or tax advice. Rates and rules change; check the sources above.