Enrollment in Seamen's Insurance

Seamen’s Insurance system is designed to ensure stable livelihood of mariners in an unexpected life event. For this purpose, they shall pay contributions. This system provides insurance benefits to mariners and their dependents for non-occupational sickness, injury, and death as well as childbirth. It also provides mariners with insurance benefits for sickness, injury, disability, and death on occupational causes including commuting, in addition to the benefits provided under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act.
It is a compulsory system in which all mariners must be covered by law, not a contract which mariners or their employers may opt for coverage or opt out.
For benefits and contributions, visit Japan Health Insurance Association website.（外部リンク）

All mariners employed to work on a seagoing ship/vessel, regardless of their nationality, must be covered by Seamen’s Insurance system.
A mariner referred in Seamen’s Insurance means a mariner defined in the Mariners Act, and it includes a captain, crew members, and reserved crew members onboard the following ships/vessels:

1. A ship/vessel owned by a Japanese national, Japanese company, or Japanese public office
2. A ship/vessel rented/leased by a Japanese national, Japanese company or Japanese public office, or chartered for navigation from a port in Japan to a port in a foreign country
3. A ship/vessel whose crew members are assigned by the Japanese government
4. A ship/vessel that navigates only between domestic ports

Note: Crew members onboard the following ships/vessels are not subject to mariners:

1. A ship whose gross tonnage is less than five tons
2. A ship that only navigates lakes, rivers, or within a port
3. A yacht or motorboat used for sports and recreation
4. Specific fishing boats with gross tonnage of less than 30 tons (e.g. boats for stationary net fishing or aquaculture)

You can apply for the continuous coverage on a voluntary basis when you retire after you have been a mariner covered by Seamen's Insurance for at least 2 consecutive months.
For details, refer to the Japan Health Insurance Association website.（外部リンク）

The employer of mariners must enroll their employees in the system by submitting the "Application to Enroll in Seamen’s Insurance" to JPS branch office which covers the employer, within 10 days from the date of actual employment.
Note that if you employ a mariner for the first time, you need to submit "Registration for Ship/Vessel Coverage" in addition to the Application as shown above.