Leaving a job in Japan sets off several deadlines at once, and the one people miss is not the resignation itself. It is the paperwork that follows, most of it time-limited, some of it visible at your next visa renewal.
Giving notice
The Civil Code allows an employee on an open-ended contract to resign with two weeks notice. Company rules commonly ask for one to three months, and following them keeps the relationship intact — but the statutory position is two weeks, which matters if you are being told you cannot leave.
A fixed-term contract is different: leaving early generally requires grounds or agreement, unless you have been employed beyond a year.
The rishokuhyo
The rishoku-hyo (離職票) is the separation certificate. Your employer files with Hello Work, which issues it, and you cannot claim unemployment benefit without it. Expect it roughly ten days to two weeks after your last day.
Check the stated reason for leaving before you accept it. The form distinguishes voluntary resignation (自己都合) from employer-initiated separation (会社都合), and that field alone determines how soon your money starts and how long it lasts. Employers sometimes record a resignation as voluntary when the circumstances were not, because it affects their own subsidies.
Unemployment benefit, and what changed in 2025
You generally need 12 months of employment insurance contributions within the previous two years. For employer-initiated separation the bar drops to six months within one year.
Then there is the wait. Everyone serves a seven-day waiting period after registering at Hello Work. After that:
- Employer-initiated separation: payment begins immediately.
- Voluntary resignation: a further restriction period of one month. Until April 2025 this was two to three months, so older guides — and plenty of colleagues — will tell you the wrong figure.
- Three months still applies if you have resigned voluntarily without justifiable reason twice or more in the past five years, or were dismissed for serious misconduct.
- No restriction at all if you undertake an approved reskilling or education programme within a year either side of leaving. Genuinely worth asking about.
Benefit runs roughly 50 to 80 per cent of your previous wage, for 90 to 330 days depending on age, insured years and why you left.
What to take to Hello Work
- Rishoku-hyo, both parts
- Residence card
- My Number documentation
- Bank passbook or account details in your own name
- Photographs to the specified size
- Employment insurance number, if you have it
You must then attend periodically and demonstrate you are genuinely seeking work. Missing an appointment interrupts payment.
The three clocks that start the day you leave
Health insurance — 14 days
Leaving employment ends your employees' health insurance. You have 14 days to enrol in National Health Insurance at your ward office, or to elect continued coverage (任意継続) under your former scheme, generally within 20 days. Do not simply go uninsured: enrolment is backdated to the day your old cover ended, so the premiums accrue regardless, and an uninsured hospital visit is billed in full.
Pension — same visit
You move from employees' pension to National Pension. Handled at the same ward office counter. If paying is difficult while unemployed, apply for an exemption rather than ignoring the bills — an approved exemption is recorded, unpaid contributions are recorded differently, and permanent residency guidance looks at whether statutory charges were paid on time.
Immigration — 14 days
If you hold a work status of residence, you must notify the Immigration Services Agency within 14 days of leaving the employer, and again when you join a new one. This is free, can be done online or by post, and is one of the things checked at renewal.
Residence tax carries on
Residence tax is billed on last year's income, so it keeps arriving after your income stops. If it was deducted from your salary it now switches to payment slips sent to you. Budget for it — an unemployment period is exactly when this bill surprises people.
The phrases
- 離職票をお願いします。 — Rishokuhyō o onegai shimasu. — Please issue my separation certificate.
- 離職理由に同意できません。 — Rishoku riyū ni dōi dekimasen. — I do not agree with the stated reason for leaving.
- 国民健康保険に加入したいです。 — Kokumin kenkō hoken ni kanyū shitai desu. — I would like to enrol in National Health Insurance.
- 年金の免除を申請したいです。 — Nenkin no menjo o shinsei shitai desu. — I would like to apply for a pension exemption.
Where to confirm this
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
- Immigration Services Agency
- Our guide to changing jobs on a work visa
- Our guide to residence tax
Guides are dated rather than undated: last reviewed 21 August 2026. This is an organisational aid, not legal or immigration advice — always confirm anything consequential with your ward office, the Immigration Services Agency, or a qualified professional.