Notes on Individual Rules under the Japan-China Social Security Agreement

In case you work as an employee on board a sea-going vessel flying the flag of Japan or China and would otherwise be compulsorily covered by the pension systems of Japan and China, you will be subject only to the pension systems of the country of the flag. However, if you ordinarily reside in the other country, you will be subject to the system of the country in which you ordinarily reside.

Under this rule for crews of ships, maximum exemption period is not specified. The procedure to apply for the Certificate of Coverage under this rule is the same as that for general employees.

If you work as an employee on an aircraft in international traffic, you will be compulsorily covered only by the pension system of the country in which your employer is located.

Under the Japan-China Agreement, you will only be covered by the pension system of the country you are detached from, for up to five years from the starting date of detachment, regardless of your expected period of detachment.

If you need to continue to work as a detached worker in China for more than five years, you can continuously be covered only by the pension system of Japan for up to additional five years in principle, if the pension institutions of both countries agree on such extension on an individual basis.

If you further continue to work in China for over ten years because of exceptional reasons, you may continuously be covered by the pension system of Japan if the pension institutions of both countries agree on such extension on an individual basis.

Self-employed persons are not subject to the provisions of the elimination of dual compulsory coverage under the Agreement. It is because self-employed persons, who operate business without employees, are voluntarily covered by the pension system of China.

In order to establish exemption from the pension system of China, your employer in China needs to submit your original Certificate of Coverage issued by the Japan Pension Service as early as possible to the Chinese institution which is responsible for collecting social insurance contributions.

The Chinese institution makes duplicate of your Certificate of Coverage and returns the original Certificate of Coverage.

If you have been already sent to work in China before the date of entry into force of the Agreement, you shall be exempted from the pension system of China from the date of entry into force of the Agreement for five years from that date. The extension may be granted as explained in 4 above.
Please apply for the Certificate of Coverage immediately after August 1, 2019 (one month prior to the effective date of the Agreement) at the Japan Pension Service Branch Offices or Processing Centers, and receive the Certificate of Coverage after September 1, 2019 (the effective date of the Agreement) as explained in 8 below. Then ask your employer in China to submit the Certificate of Coverage to the institution which is responsible for collecting social insurance contributions in China, and take the necessary procedures to withdraw from the pension system of China.

You may apply for the Certificate of Coverage after August 1, 2019 (one month prior to the effective date of the Agreement) at the Japan Pension Service Branch Offices or Processing Centers.
Please note the Japan Pension Service will issue the Certificates of Coverage after September 1, 2019 (the effective date of the Agreement).

If you are sent from Japan to work in China again, there is no interval rule in the Agreement between the end date of the previous temporary detachment and the date to begin the new temporary detachment.
However, please note that the new temporary detachment needs not to be substantially identical and continuous to the previous detachment.

The Chinese legislation on "the Basic Old-Age Insurance for employees",which is subject to the Japan-China Social Security Agreement, reportedly does not cover workplace in Hong Kong or Makao, and workers detached to workplaces in Hong Kong or Macao are not subject to this Agreement, accordingly.
In case of applying for the Certificate of Coverage, please make sure that the Chinese legislation on "the Basic Old-Age Insurance for employees" is not applied or not to be applied to the detached workers.