🏦 Premiums Now Debitable from SBI Sumishin Net Bank

❓ What's changing?

On June 1, 2026, the Japan Pension Service began accepting premium direct debit (kouza furikae) from SBI Sumishin Net Bank, an internet-only bank. Four payments are covered: employees' pension insurance premiums (kousei nenkin), health insurance premiums, mariners' insurance premiums, and the child and child-rearing contribution (kodomo kosodate kyoshutsukin). Direct debit means the employer has the monthly premiums pulled automatically from a designated account, instead of carrying a payment slip to a bank counter every month. Until this date premiums could not be debited from an SBI Sumishin Net Bank account; from June 1 onward, companies that use this bank as their main account can choose direct debit as well. An employer who wants to use it fills in the "Application for Payment (Change) of Health Insurance and Employees' Pension Insurance Premiums by Account Transfer" and mails it to the administrative center (jimu center) or pension office (nenkin jimusho) with jurisdiction, or submits it at a pension office counter. As the word "(Change)" in the form title shows, the same form is used when a company that already uses direct debit at another bank switches its account to SBI Sumishin Net Bank. Detailed instructions are on the Japan Pension Service page "When you want to pay health insurance and employees' pension insurance premiums by account transfer."

👥 Who is affected?

• ●Foreign business owners running a company or shop in Japan whose office is a covered workplace for social insurance (for example, holders of the Business Manager visa)
• ●Accounting, HR and labor staff at companies that use SBI Sumishin Net Bank as their main bank
• ●Employers who currently pay monthly at a bank counter with a payment slip and want to switch to automatic debit
• ●Companies already using direct debit at another bank that want to move the debit account to SBI Sumishin Net Bank
• ●Ship owners covered by mariners' insurance

🌏 Impact on foreign residents

The people most affected are foreign business owners with a company in Japan, and foreign staff handling payroll at small or foreign-owned offices. Social insurance premiums fall due every month, and paying with a slip means visiting a bank during weekday business hours. Switching to direct debit removes the monthly handling of a Japanese-language payment slip and cuts the risk of missing a deadline. For companies that keep their funds only in online banks and have no account at a branch-based bank, this change makes direct debit a realistic option for the first time. There are limits to note. This announcement is for employers, and the items listed are employees' pension, health insurance, mariners' insurance premiums and the child-rearing contribution. It says nothing about National Pension (kokumin nenkin) premiums that individuals pay themselves; if you want direct debit for those, it is a separate procedure, so check with a pension office or your city hall pension counter. Also, the application is filed by post or at a counter, on a Japanese-language form. If you are unsure about the Japanese, filling it in with help from a certified social insurance labor consultant (sharoushi) or at a pension office counter is safer.