Social security agreements: counting home-country pension years in Japan

Japan has social security agreements (社会保障協定) with 24 countries, and 20 of them add up pension years across both systems, according to the Japan Pension Service’s list (updated October 2025, including Austria from December 2025). This is a totalization agreement for pensions: your years in Japan and in the other country are combined to check whether you meet each country’s minimum. The UK, South Korea, China and Italy are on the list but do not add up years.

What does a social security agreement do?

The Japan Pension Service says the agreements solve two problems. First, double coverage (二重加入): you could owe premiums to both countries for the same work. Second, lost premiums: a short stay abroad may not reach a country’s pension minimum, so the money paid in gives you nothing.

For double coverage, the agency gives this rule for workers sent abroad by an employer: if the posting is expected to last 5 years or less, only the home country’s law applies. If it is expected to last longer, only the host country’s law applies.

For lost premiums, the agreements combine your years in both systems. That is the part this guide covers.

Which countries have an agreement with Japan?

The Japan Pension Service lists 24 countries (page updated October 2025; Austria’s agreement took effect in December 2025). “Add up years” means period totalization (期間通算) is possible. The last column is the minimum the partner country asks for an old-age pension, from the agency’s reference table of December 2025. Check the partner country’s own pension office for current rules.

The UK, South Korea and China agreements only prevent paying premiums twice. If your country is not in this table, no agreement is in force according to the agency’s list, and your years in each country stay separate.

How do pension years get added up?

The rule works in both directions.

• In Japan: Japan’s old-age pension needs 10 years or more of qualifying periods. If your Japanese years alone fall short, the partner-country years can be counted toward the 10. The agency’s example: 6 + 3 + 2 years in Japan and abroad make 11 years, so a pension is paid. Years in both systems at the same time are not counted twice.
• In your home country: Japanese years are treated as partner-country years when your home country checks its own minimum. The agency’s example is Germany, which asks for 5 years. Three years in Germany plus two in Japan meets it.

Adding up is only a test of eligibility. You do not get one merged pension. Each country pays for the years under its own system, and Japan pays an amount based on what you paid into Japan’s system.

Should I use the agreement or take the lump-sum refund?

If you leave Japan with less than 10 years of coverage, you may be able to claim the lump-sum withdrawal payment (脱退一時金). See our guide to the Japan pension refund for amounts and how to claim.

The two choices exclude each other. The Japan Pension Service says:

• Taking the refund means all periods before the claim stop being pension periods.
• Periods you receive the refund for can no longer be counted under the agreement.
• It tells people to weigh a future pension through totalization against the lump sum before claiming.
• With 10 years or more of qualifying periods you can get a Japanese old-age pension, so you cannot take the refund.

Whether your combined years with an agreement country affect refund eligibility is not spelled out on the agency pages we checked. Ask the Japan Pension Service before you claim.

Does this apply to me as a foreigner?

The agency’s pages describe coverage periods, not visa types. We did not find any rule tied to your status of residence (在留資格). What matters is whether you paid into Japan’s pension and into the pension system of a listed country.

• Work visa: you are usually in the Employees’ Pension (厚生年金) through your employer. See the Japanese pension for foreigners for how that works.
• Leaving soon: you must decide between the refund and keeping your years alive. The Japan Pension Service can tell you what applies to your case, and we cannot.

Check the table above for your home country. Most readers from Pakistan, Vietnam, Nepal, Indonesia and Bangladesh will find no agreement. The Philippines and India are the two South and Southeast Asian countries on the list with period totalization.

How do I claim a Japanese pension with an agreement?

Notes from the agency:

• The partner-agency route is for most agreements. The UK, South Korea and China are excluded.
• Where a tax treaty with the partner country has a pension clause, the pension is taxed there and not in Japan. You file a tax treaty notification (租税条約に関する届出書, two copies) with the Japan Pension Service. For your own tax case, ask a 税理士. Our guide to tax residency for foreigners explains the basics.

More guides

• The Japanese pension for foreigners: pay, exemption, refund or agreement.
• Japan pension refund (脱退一時金): who qualifies and how much.
• Leaving Japan checklist: tax, pension, residence card and accounts.
• Tax residency for foreigners