Salary and Benefit Information
Salary and Deduction
SalaryIf your employment starting date is on the 1st of the month, you will be paid your salary on the 17th of the same month. Please note that if the 17th falls on a weekend or a national holiday, payment will shift by a few days forward or backwards.
If your employment starts after the 1st, your salary will be paid the following month on the 17th. This means that you will receive two months' salary that month.
The automatic deduction from your monthly salary will include the items below. Your amount will be calculated based on laws depending on your age, whether your salary changed or whether you have a dependent, etc. Our university HR will be able to estimate the approximate amount of your deduction based on the latest laws. Please also refer to premium rates of health insurance, nursing care, and pension from the MEXT Kyosai website
◇Health Insurance (Short-Term)
◇Nursing Care Insurance (will be charged to employees who are over 40 years old)
◇Pension (Long-Term)
◇Unemployment Benefit
◇Income Tax
You need to access Tokyo Tech Portal which is our page for accessing personal records and information. Please go to ELSI Redmine for the instructional pdf on how to log in to Tokyo Tech Portal and find your paystub. ELSI also provides a sample paystub with most items translated into English.
Health Insurance
OutlineFor all those with a status of residence that allows you to stay in Japan for over a year, it is mandatory to join a health insurance program. Insurance will cover 70% of the medical costs including dental and prescribed medicine. The remaining 30% will be paid by the patient. This applies to your dependent family members as well; 30% will be paid out-of-pocket for their medical visits and prescriptions. 30% may sound high but given that medical costs are relatively low in Japan for most standard treatments, you will find the arrangement to be reasonable.
MEXT KyosaiA full-time researcher who has an employment contract with ELSI/Tokyo Tech will automatically join a welfare program package called the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Mutual Aid Association or MEXT Kyosai. It is a multi-benefit package that covers health insurance but also other social programs such as pension and elderly assistance insurance.
When a member is unable to receive his/her salary in whole or in part because the member takes leave from work due to illness, injury, childbirth, or other reasons not related to work, the MEXT Kyosai will pay benefits.
You will begin paying into the Kyosai insurance the day you start employment but you will also be entitled to receive its benefits as of that day. Payment of premiums for the Kyosai insurance will be paid half by the employer and half by the employee. Find premium rates on the MEXT Kyosai website. The monthly deductions of your standard monthly salary will be taken as premium for MEXT Kyosai. If you are 40 to 64 years old, you are also required to pay into the nursing care insurance (elderly assistance insurance) according to the Long-Term Care Insurance Act.
If you are spending time doing research at ELSI but without an employment contract with us, we recommend that you get National Health Insurance, which is called Kokumin Kenkou Hoken for self-employed or retired people who are not covered under corporate or government insurance programs. For National Health Insurance, your premium is calculated based on your previous year's income.
Unlike MEXT Kyosai, which automatically enrolls anyone with an employment contract with ELSI, you will need to take the necessary steps at the city office of your residence to enroll in National Health Insurance. We can help you through this process so please contact us if you fall into this category.
Health Insurance Cards and Medical Visits
OutlineWhether you are a part of MEXT Kyosai or National Health Insurance, you will be issued a health insurance card. Always bring it with you on any visit to a hospital or doctor's office. As mentioned above, you will be expected to pay 30% of the cost at the time of the visit.
Please note that normal pregnancy and childbirth, health examinations, and the use of private rooms during hospitalization will not be covered by these insurance programs as they do not fall under illnesses or immediate necessities. There are also rules on what types of treatments will be covered and what choices will fall under self-pay. For example, a metal crown for your teeth will be covered by insurance but an aesthetically pleasing and more costly ceramic crown will have to be paid by you. You will be notified in advance whether the treatment you seek will be covered by insurance or not.
It is possible to get reimbursed with the filing of the proper paperwork. But the most important factor to keep in mind is that the reimbursement amount will be based on the standard cost of that equivalent medical procedure in Japan. Given that medical costs are low in Japan, in most instances, you should be prepared to receive less reimbursement than what you will have spent overseas. If your treatment is not covered by insurance in Japan, you will not be reimbursed. You will need to submit the forms below to ELSI's office for MEXT Kyosai. Please promptly contact us and ensure your paperwork is in order since it could be different depending on your situation, such as how many times you see a doctor, whether or not you are hospitalized, etc.
- Attending Physician's/Dentist's Statement
This should be filled out and signed by the attending doctor.
Physician: Attending Physician's Statement and Itemized receipt (Duplex printing)
Dentist: Attending Dentist's Statement and Itemized receipt (Duplex printing) - Itemized Receipt
This should be completed and signed by either the attending doctor or the superintendent of the hospital or clinic.
Physician: included in the pdf above
Dentist: included in the pdf above - Receipt/Bill
Please make sure you save all of your medical receipts that are issued by the local hospital or clinic and bills from your credit card company if you use your card.
- Claim form for medical expense reimbursement
Your signature and personal seal are required. This form will be prepared by ELSI staff after your return as it is available only in Japanese.
You will receive your reimbursement in your Japanese bank account about 3 months after submitting all of your required documents to MEXT Kyosai via our university HR. According to MEXT Kyosai policies, your reimbursement will not be transferred to either a foreign bank account or somebody else's Japanese bank account.
Any other additional insurance coverage that you seek will not be covered by ELSI. If your credit card company offers you health insurance coverage for your foreign travels, ELSI will not pay or be involved in the reimbursement process.
Worker's Accident Compensation Insurance
The Japanese government requires all companies, universities included, to enroll in a national insurance program called the Worker's Accident Compensation Insurance or Rosai Hoken. This insurance covers injuries, illnesses, disability, and death that occur at work or while commuting to/from work.
Under this program, every full-time, part-time, and temporary worker employed by a company --or university-- is covered by this insurance, regardless of their residential or visa status. In the event that you fall ill or are injured while working at or commuting to/from your workplace, or are not sure if your case can be covered by Rosai Hoken, please contact the ELSI administrative office and we will provide assistance.
How it works:
- 1) Use your MEXT Kyosai or National Health Insurance to get medical treatment first. With your health insurance, you will be asked to pay 30% of the medical cost. Make sure to save all of your medical receipts.
- 2) Your case along with the receipts will be submitted to the Labor Standards Inspection Office to be determined whether your illness, injury, disability or death can be deemed to be work-related.
- 3) In the event that your case is deemed work-related, Rosai Hoken will cover 100% of your medical costs until your treatment is completed. In this case, you will be reimbursed for the 30% that you paid by using your health insurance.
As stated above, please keep in mind that it is not the company or university but the Labor Standards Inspection Office that decides whether your claim justifies compensation under Rosai Hoken.
Pension
Outline
It is a legal requirement in Japan that any resident between the ages of 20 and 59, Japanese or non-Japanese, must enroll in the national pension plan. As explained in the Health Insurance section, if you have an employment contract with ELSI, as part of Tokyo Tech, you are automatically enrolled in a welfare program package called the MEXT Kyosai.
MEXT Kyosai
The Kyosai is operated by the MEXT and the pension plan (Long-Term Benefits) is part of this Kyosai welfare program package. Your premium will be automatically deducted from your standard monthly salary.
National Pension Insurance
For those who are not enrolled in MEXT Kyosai bundled program, it is required that you join the National Pension Insurance Kokumin Nenkin. Your monthly premium will be 15,590 yen per month as of 2015. The latest contribution amount should be announced on the Japan Pension Service website in every March-April. You will have to visit your local city or ward office of your residence to set up your enrollment. Please contact us and we will assist you.
You could get discounts on your premium if you do not make income in Japan. However, we heard that it might not be qualified as coverage periods under pension system of you country. Please check the social security agreement between Japan and your country.
Lump-Sum Withdrawal Payment
In both the MEXT Kyosai and the Kokumin Nenkin pension programs, you must pay in for a total of 25 years before you become eligible for full benefit. Non-Japanese who have contributed to these pension programs for six months or longer but under 25 years are entitled to a partial refund (called Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments) must be submitted within two years of leaving Japan. A brief summary of its system and basic idea can be found in ELSI Redmine.
Social Security Agreement
You may be qualified for the totalization benefits under the Japanese system as well as your country's system if you have qualifying coverage periods under pension systems of countries with which Japan has totalization agreements, subject to qualification conditions. Learn more about the social security agreement and visit ELSI Redmine for a brief summary of its system and basic idea.
Taxes
Income Tax
OutlineUnless you choose to apply for the tax treaty below, you will pay income tax to Japan and it will be automatically deducted from your salary. You do not need to prepare any official certificate in advance.
Tax TreatyJapan and some countries have agreed to the tax treaty that avoids double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion. According to the treaty, in your first year of getting paid in Japan you will not pay the taxes concerned in the treaty to Japan but to a country where you are resident following the country's laws. You need to submit a residency certificate and other designated documents to a Japanese tax office by way of our university HR.
The taxes concerned in each agreement are different and application procedures and required documents are also different depending on each foreign country. If you are interested in the treaty, ELSI recommends our researchers talk directly to the official tax office or any specialist of this field in your country in advance. It is best you take your action early enough with regards to making your decision and application. You are supposed to submit all of your application documents to our university HR by your contact starting date if yours is 1st of the month, so your taxes will not be deducted from your first salary. It took over a month for our researchers who applied for the treaty with the U.S. in the past when they asked IRS to receive a residence certificate.
Residence Tax
The residence tax is determined by the amount of income received between January and December of the previous year. Your residence tax payment will be calculated between January and May of the following year and it will be deducted from your June salary. Each city has own calculation method based on whether your salary changes, whether you have a dependent, etc.
You will receive a notification of your payment from your city via our university HR in June.
You have to repay the rest of the unpaid tax before you leave Japan. There are some optional ways to pay. However, the easiest and least troublesome way is to have Tokyo Tech withhold it from your last salary.
If you leave Japan in January-May while your new amount of residence tax is still being calculated and the amount you are supposed to pay for the previous year is undetermined, Tokyo Tech will not be able to withhold it from your last salary. You need to go to the city office where you live and ask how you can pay the rest of the unpaid tax.
Year-End Adjustment of Withholding Income Tax
The year-end adjustment is when the employer settles the discrepancy between the total amount of income tax withheld from the employee's annual salary and the amount of tax to be paid for the total annual salary (as calculated at the last salary payment of the year).
The year-end adjustment is, in principle, made at the time of the last salary payment in a year. We will inform you of Tokyo Tech's latest procedure of year-end adjustment and assist you.
You will not be required to file a final tax return by yourself unless your annual income exceeds 20,000,000 JPY, or other circumstances. Please refer to the guides from the National Tax Agency Japan for more details.
Working Hours and Holidays
Working Hours and Holidays
Working Hours and Holidays
Employees conduct scientific research for ELSI under the Discretionary Labor System in which your working hours and places are determined by the working individual. Tokyo Tech employees under the labor system are regularly deemed to have worked 7 hours and 45 minutes per day and 38 hours and 45 minutes per week.
Your holidays are fixed and will be Saturdays, Sundays, and official national holidays, and December 29 to January 3. You should follow the holidays as much as you can.
If you cannot change your schedule and have to work on a holiday, such as conferences, Tokyo Tech encourages employees to take a substitute day off according to Japanese law. Please contact us for more details of Tokyo Tech policies.
Paid and Unpaid Leave
There are different categories of leave (see below), but you will probably only use Annual paid leave. We will give you more details and decide which process would be best for you.
You can take a day off while submitting the required form and submit it to our school before you actually take it. Please email us and tell us the dates of your leave in advance if you are going to take it. Our staff will fill out the required form and submit it to our school for foreign researchers.
- Paid
◇Annual paid leave: e.g. vacation, catching a cold, etc.
It will depend on how many months there are left in a year, January-December. The maximum is 20 days/year when you are hired in January. The number decreases if you are hired in the middle of year. Your unused annual paid leave, up to 20 days, may only be carried over to the next calendar year, but not to the year after that.
◇Special leave: e.g. a natural disaster - No salary from Tokyo Tech, but there would be benefits from MEXT Kyosai
◇Sick leave: e.g. a sickness/injury due to an incident at work
◇Nursing leave: e.g. to take care of your parents, children, etc.
◇Maternity Leave and Childcare Leave: See ELSI Redmine for more details.
Summer Vacation
According to Tokyo Tech summer vacation system, you can take a 3-day paid vacation between July 1 and September 30. These days are summer vacation so they won't be deducted from your paid leave days.
Your summer vacation has to be three consecutive days. Please visit ELSI Redmine for more information if you plan to use these days because there are some special rules that apply.
You can take the vacation while submitting the required form and submit it to our school before you actually take it. Please email us and tell us the dates of your vacation in advance if you are going to take it. Our office staff will fill out the required form and submit it to our school for foreign researchers.
Attendance Sheet
All Tokyo Tech employees are required to submit a monthly attendance sheet of the current month on the 1st day of next month in order to maintain employees' health and welfare.
Business Trip and Reimbursement
Please directly contact us.Procedures for Leaving
Detailed description can be found in ELSI Redmine.