An Overseas Business Trip and an Overseas Posting Are Completely Different for Workers' Accident Compensation

In short: workers' accident compensation insurance follows the territoriality principle. On an overseas business trip (海外出張), benefits are paid from the workers' accident compensation insurance of the establishment in Japan; an overseas posting (海外派遣) falls outside that, and without special enrollment (特別加入) no benefits can be received. The dividing line is not the length of the stay but where the direction and orders come from.

This is the question we are asked most often by companies that send staff to China and elsewhere in Asia. People sometimes say "three months is a business trip, a year is a posting," but the period does not decide it. Send someone out on the wrong classification and, if an accident happens on site, no scheme pays out at all.

Where is the line between a business trip and a posting?

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省) explains it as follows.

Whether a case is an overseas "business trip" or an overseas "posting" is not judged by the length of the period of work overseas, but by the employment relationship of that worker overseas. Accordingly, even where the work overseas runs for a long period, if the person is engaged in duties under the direction and orders of the establishment in Japan it is an overseas business trip; and where the person belongs to an establishment overseas and carries out duties under the direction and orders of that establishment, it is treated as an overseas posting.
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 労働基準情報FAQ「海外出張先で事故に遭った場合、労災保険の適用はどうなるのでしょうか。」)

In other words, whose direction the person is working under. Setting out the examples given in the Ministry's 「特別加入制度のしおり（海外派遣者用）」 brings the outline into focus.

	Examples
Overseas business trip (covered by workers' accident compensation insurance in Japan)	Business negotiations / technical meetings / market research, conferences and inspection visits / after-sales service / dealing with sudden trouble / acquiring technical skills
Overseas posting (special enrollment required)	Secondment to a group company overseas / transfer to an overseas branch or sales office / engagement in installation or construction work overseas

Once you second someone to a local subsidiary, it is an overseas posting regardless of the period. Conversely, where the person moves on instructions from the head office in Japan, reports to a superior in Japan, and is subject to the Japanese work rules, there is room to treat even a year as a business trip.

The judgment turns not on how it looks on paper but on whose direction the person is actually under. The structure is the same as the test of worker status set out in The line between outsourcing and employment is not settled by the contract.

If someone is injured on site, which scheme can be used?

On an overseas business trip, benefits are paid from the workers' accident compensation insurance of the establishment in Japan. No special procedure is required.

In the case of an overseas posting, no benefits can be received unless the special enrollment procedure has been completed (Workers' Accident Compensation Insurance Act (労働者災害補償保険法, Act No. 50 of 1947), Article 33 item 7 and Article 36 paragraph 1). The Ministry's booklet also states expressly that "if the special enrollment procedure has not been carried out in respect of an overseas posted worker, no benefits under workers' accident compensation insurance can be received."

There are three points to watch.

First, there are limits on who can enroll. Article 33 item 7 of the Workers' Accident Compensation Insurance Act provides that, where the overseas business to which the person is posted does not fall within a specified business (特定事業), enrollment is limited to persons posted as workers employed by that business. Whether it is a specified business is determined by scale, and scale is assessed "for each country overseas, and on a company basis." Where the receiving business is large, a person going in the position of a business proprietor cannot enroll.

Second, locally hired staff cannot enroll. They are not posted from a business in Japan. A posting purely for the purpose of study is also outside the scope.

Third, you cannot enroll after the event. Special enrollment operates by application and government approval, so the procedure has to be completed before departure. You cannot join retroactively once an accident has happened.

Where the company president goes overseas personally, that sits in a different category from special enrollment in Japan. The requirements for special enrollment in Japan are set out in No workers' accident compensation for the company president — and with only one person, no special enrollment either.

Do you join the social insurance in the host country?

That is a separate matter from workers' accident compensation. In summary:

Scheme	Treatment while the person is overseas
Health insurance (健康保険)	Continues so long as the person is employed by a covered establishment (coverage applies even without an address in Japan)
Employees' Pension Insurance (厚生年金保険)	Same as above
Long-term care insurance (介護保険), Category 2	Excluded once the person no longer has an address in Japan (a notification of exclusion, 適用除外等該当届, is required)
Workers' accident compensation insurance (労災保険)	On a business trip, the insurance in Japan reaches the person. On a posting, special enrollment

The Japan Pension Service (日本年金機構) states that "health insurance and Employees' Pension Insurance apply, irrespective of whether the person has an address in Japan, so long as the person works at a covered establishment," and that "long-term care insurance, on the other hand, applies only to those who have an address in Japan." If a notification of moving abroad is filed, do not forget the notification of exclusion from long-term care insurance (介護保険適用除外等該当届).

Sending someone to China — the Japan-China Social Security Agreement

In China, a person posted from a Japanese company also comes within the local social insurance, but the 社会保障に関する日本国政府と中華人民共和国政府との間の協定 (Treaty No. 1 of 2019 (令和元年条約第1号); in force from 1 September 2019) provides a mechanism for avoiding dual coverage.

This agreement contains several points that are easily misunderstood in practice.

Issue	The correct position
What the exemption covers	China's employees' basic old-age insurance (职工基本养老保险) only. Medical insurance, unemployment insurance, work injury insurance and maternity insurance are outside the scope
Schemes covered on the Japanese side	National Pension (excluding the fund) and Employees' Pension Insurance (excluding the funds). Health insurance is outside the scope
Requirement as to period	No expectation is required. For the first five years of the posting, only the legislation of Japan applies (Agreement, Article 6(1))
Totalisation of pension coverage periods	Not possible. The Japan-China Agreement covers only the avoidance of dual coverage
Hong Kong and Macau	Outside the scope
Self-employed persons	Outside the scope

★ The explanation "where the person is posted for an expected period of five years or less" does not apply to the Japan-China Agreement. The Japan Pension Service's China-specific page states that "no 'expectation' as to the length of the posting period is required; for five years from the day the posting begins, the person is covered only by the pension scheme of the sending country." Consistently with that, the instructions for completing the application form direct that, where the planned posting period exceeds five years, the field for the expected end date should show "the date on which five years from the expected start date of the posting expire." Even where the posting is expected to run beyond five years, a certificate of coverage is issued for the first five years.

The agreements with the United States and Germany are of the "expected to be five years or less" type, and the Japan Pension Service's general page is written that way. China sits on the exception side. Reading only the general page will lead you astray.

How to handle the certificate of coverage

To obtain the exemption, you need to have a certificate of coverage (適用証明書) issued by the Japan Pension Service (Agreement, Article 13). The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's public information magazine also states that "in order to be exempted from coverage under the Chinese pension scheme, it is necessary to obtain a 'certificate of coverage' in advance from the Japan Pension Service or elsewhere." Applications can be made from roughly six months before the planned start of work.

And China is handled differently from other agreement countries. The Japan Pension Service asks the following.

As regards the certificate of coverage issued by the Japan Pension Service, please submit the original, promptly after the posting to China, through the Chinese establishment to which the person is posted, to the social insurance premium collection agency with jurisdiction over that establishment. (...) Please carry out the procedures for exemption from the Chinese scheme in accordance with the laws and regulations of China.

Whereas for agreement countries generally it is enough to "present or submit the certificate when requested by the authorities of the other country," in the case of China the original is to be submitted actively and promptly after the posting, and a separate exemption procedure under Chinese law is also required.

We stop short of asserting more than that. We were not able to confirm any primary source on the Japanese side stating that "the exemption takes effect only once the original has been submitted" (unverified). The conditions for effectiveness on the Chinese side are matters determined by Chinese law and fall outside the scope of published Japanese material. What can be said with certainty is that the Japan Pension Service asks for both the submission of the original and the procedure under Chinese law. Do not treat the matter as finished once the certificate has been issued.

Where the posting continues beyond five years, an application for extension allows the person to remain covered only by the Japanese scheme if the competent institutions of the two countries decide and agree on the individual case (Agreement, Article 6(2)). An extension is in principle for a period not exceeding five years, but where there are special circumstances there is room for a total exceeding ten years to be permitted. If an extension is not granted, there is a fallback in the special enrollment arrangement under Employees' Pension Insurance (voluntary coverage).

What should you check before sending someone out?

Before you send someone out, write down these five points.

1. Business trip or posting? — whose direction is the person working under? A secondment to a local subsidiary is a posting
2. If it is a posting, has the special enrollment application been completed before departure? — you cannot enroll after the event
3. Will health insurance and Employees' Pension Insurance continue? — they continue so long as the person is employed by a covered establishment
4. Will the residence registration be moved overseas? — if so, the notification of exclusion from long-term care insurance (介護保険適用除外等該当届)
5. For China, have you arranged both the application for the certificate of coverage and the submission of the original after arrival? — applications can be made from six months in advance

With items 2 and 5, starting once the dates are fixed can leave you short of time. Begin as soon as the assignment is announced internally.

Note that where you are the receiving side, bringing foreign nationals into Japan, the subject is reversed. For residence status itself, please see Residence status and visa consultations; for the procedures a company follows when bringing on foreign employees, please see Bringing on foreign employees. These are matters handled by 四葉行政書士事務所, which is a separate business entity from 四葉社会保険労務士事務所. If you instruct us, each office accepts the work separately, under a separate contract. Neither our company nor our office gives or receives referral fees.

Frequently asked questions

Q. We are sending someone to China for three months of technical guidance. Is that a posting or a business trip?
A. If the person does not come under the direction of the local subsidiary, moves on instructions from the establishment in Japan, and reports to a superior in Japan, there is room to treat it as a business trip. Conversely, if the person's employment is transferred to the local subsidiary and they come under local direction, it is a posting even at three months. Please check by reference to where the direction and orders sit, not the period. If the classification is unclear, write out the reporting lines and which work rules apply, and then come and discuss it.

Q. How much does the special enrollment premium cost?
A. Special enrollment for overseas posted workers (the Class 3 special enrollment premium) is calculated on the basic daily benefit amount (給付基礎日額) applied for and approved. The level you set for the daily amount changes both the premium and the benefits. The actual amount is decided at the time of enrollment, so please discuss it with us beforehand. For how we approach fees, please see the fee schedule.

Q. If we do not produce the certificate of coverage, will premiums be taken in China?
A. Treatment on the Chinese side is governed by Chinese law, so we cannot state a conclusion on it. What is a fact is that the Japan Pension Service asks for the submission of the original and for the exemption procedure under Chinese law, so the safe approach is to proceed on the basis of completing the procedures that are being asked for.

Q. What about medical costs on site?
A. The Japan-China Agreement covers pensions only; medical insurance is not included. Health insurance insured status continues, so there is room to use the overseas medical expense (海外療養費) arrangement, but it works by paying the full amount on site and then claiming in Japan, and the amount paid is calculated on Japanese domestic standards. That gap is why many companies also take out private overseas travel insurance or expatriate cover. The choice of insurance products is outside our scope of work, so please consult an insurance specialist.

Sources for this article

• 労働者災害補償保険法 (Workers' Accident Compensation Insurance Act, Act No. 50 of 1947), Article 33 items 6 and 7, Article 36 paragraph 1
• 労働者災害補償保険法施行規則 (Ordinance for Enforcement of the Workers' Accident Compensation Insurance Act, Ordinance of the Ministry of Labour No. 22 of 1955), Article 46-16, Article 46-25-2
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 労働基準情報FAQ「海外出張先で事故に遭った場合、労災保険の適用はどうなるのでしょうか。」 (that the business trip / posting classification does not turn on the length of the period of work)
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 「特別加入制度のしおり（海外派遣者用）」 (the definitions and examples of business trip and posting, and that no benefits can be received without enrollment)
• Published materials of the Prefectural Labour Bureaus (that scale is assessed for each country overseas and on a company basis, and that locally hired staff and postings for study purposes are outside the scope)
• 社会保障に関する日本国政府と中華人民共和国政府との間の協定 (signed 9 May 2018 (平成30年5月9日), promulgated 17 May 2019 as Treaty No. 1 (令和元年5月17日公布・条約第1号), entered into force 1 September 2019 (令和元年9月1日)), Article 2(1), Article 6(1) and (2), Article 13, Article 14(3)
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, notice of the Director-General of the Pension Bureau (令和元年6月5日 年発0605第1号) — that the schemes covered are pensions only and the persons covered are employees only, that the period is the first five years from the day of posting, and the treatment of extensions
• Japan Pension Service, 「協定相手国別の注意事項（中国）」 — that no expectation as to the posting period is required, submission of the original certificate of coverage, extensions, and the treatment of Hong Kong, Macau and self-employed persons
• Japan Pension Service, 「海外へ転勤または転職するときの手続き」 — continued coverage under health insurance and Employees' Pension Insurance, and exclusion from long-term care insurance
• Whether submission of the original certificate of coverage is a condition for the exemption to take effect on the Chinese side could not be confirmed in primary sources on the Japanese side (unverified). This is because it is a matter determined by Chinese law
• All provisions are the versions in force as confirmed on e-Gov法令検索 as of 13 August 2026

This article does not go so far as to decide who you should consult. Sorting out whether a case is a business trip or a posting, applying for special enrollment, applying for the certificate of coverage, and the procedures for continuing health insurance and Employees' Pension Insurance and for exclusion from long-term care insurance are the work of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi (Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant). Applications for residence status are handled by 四葉行政書士事務所 (a separate business entity; you contract with each office separately); the income tax and residence tax treatment of an overseas assignment, by a tax accountant; and local labour legislation, by a specialist in that country — in each case to be instructed by you directly. We do not accept referral fees. Fees for consulting 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 are set out in the fee schedule, and the questions we are asked most often in frequently asked questions.

This article is general information. Judgments that turn on your particular circumstances are made by a qualified professional after a consultation. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi (Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant), Gyoseishoshi (Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist), Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).