Make sure to take your residence\u00a0card<\/a> (\u5728\u7559\u30ab\u30fc\u30c9 zairyuu kaado<\/em>) and passport when you go to the ward office. You\u2019ll need to visit the Resident Registry Section<\/b> (\u6238\u7c4d\u4f4f\u6c11\u8ab2 koseki j\u016bminka<\/i>).<\/p>\n Once there, fill in the resident moving form (\u4f4f\u6c11\u7570\u52d5\u5c4a jumin ido todoke<\/i>). Here are some words to help:<\/p>\n \u7570\u52d5\u65e5 id\u014dbi<\/i> \u5c4a\u51fa\u65e5 todokedebi<\/i> \u6c0f\u540d shimei<\/i> \u9023\u7d61\u5148 renrakusaki<\/i> \u96fb\u8a71\u756a\u53f7 denwa bango<\/i> \u81ea\u5b85 jitaku<\/i> \u643a\u5e2f keitai<\/i> \u65b0\u4f4f\u6240 shin j\u016bsho<\/i> \u4e16\u5e2f\u4e3b setai nushi<\/i> \u65e7\u4f4f\u6240 ky\u016b j\u016bsho<\/i> \u672c\u4eba honnin<\/i> \u7570\u52d5\u3057\u305f\u4eba\u5168\u54e1 id\u014d shita hito zenin<\/i> \u751f\u5e74\u6708\u65e5 seinen gappi<\/i> \u897f\u66a6 seireki<\/i> \u6027\u5225 seibetsu<\/i> \u7d9a\u67c4 tsudzukigara<\/i> Fill in the form to the best of your ability and then take a number to wait for your turn to be seen. When your turn comes, hand the form to the staff at the counter along with your residence card and passport.<\/p>\n Each ward is different when it comes to communicating with foreigners. Sometimes the staff might know a little English, other times they won\u2019t know English, but might have a document prepared in other languages with questions they might need to ask you. Our advice is to just be as patient, polite and helpful as you can.<\/p>\n Everyone who is resident in Japan must be covered under either Japan\u2019s National Health Insurance (\u56fd\u6c11\u5065\u5eb7\u4fdd\u967a kokumin kenk\u014d hoken<\/i>) or Employee Health Insurance (\u5065\u5eb7\u4fdd\u967a kenk\u014d hoken<\/i>). The latter will apply if you work for a Japanese employer that offers the health insurance benefit. Your employer should apply for this for you in that case.<\/p>\n If you are enrolling in the National Health Insurance system, then you should register for it when you are registering your address. To do this, you need to go to the National Health Insurance section (\u56fd\u6c11\u5065\u5eb7\u4fdd\u967a\u8ab2 kokumin kenk\u014d hokenka<\/i>) of your ward office.<\/p>\n Once there, you can say:<\/p>\n \u56fd\u6c11\u5065\u5eb7\u4fdd\u967a\u306b\u52a0\u5165\u3092\u3057\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059\u3002 You will fill out a form that\u2019s similar to the one for registering your address.<\/p>\n Once that is processed, the staff will probably explain how you need to pay your insurance premiums<\/b> (\u4fdd\u967a\u6599 hoken ry\u014d<\/i>). The ward office will send you invoices which need to be paid each month (the due date will be written on each invoice). You can pay these at your local convenience store<\/a>. You will also get sent a health insurance card<\/b> (\u4fdd\u967a\u8a3c hokensh\u014d<\/i>) which you present when you go to a clinic, hospital or pharmacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read our article on Japanese health insurance<\/a> to learn more about the system.<\/p>\n It is also a legal requirement for residents to register for a pension scheme. There are two types: those for full-time employees of companies (\u539a\u751f\u5e74\u91d1 k\u014dsei nenkin<\/i>) and the National Pension (\u56fd\u6c11\u5e74\u91d1 kokumin nenkin<\/i>). If you need to enroll for the National Pension, then you need to visit your ward office\u2019s pension department (\u5e74\u91d1\u4fc2 nenkinkakari<\/i>).<\/p>\n Similar to health insurance, you can say:<\/p>\n \u56fd\u6c11\u5e74\u91d1\u306b\u52a0\u5165\u3092\u3057\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059\u3002 Note that if you are a student and not working, or have low income, you can apply for an exemption so you don\u2019t need to pay into the pension scheme. We recommend asking a Japanese speaker, such as a staff member from your school, for assistance with this.<\/p>\n To read more about Japan\u2019s National Pension scheme, read our article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n When it comes time to say goodbye, you\u2019ll need to revisit your ward office to let them know you\u2019re moving. Remember all those Japanese words you used when you registered your address at the ward office? You\u2019re going to need that again when you move out, plus your new address or your overseas address if you\u2019re leaving Japan.<\/p>\n Generally the form you need to fill out is the same as the one you filled when you moved in, but some wards may have a separate form specifically for moving out. Read more about it in our article<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you need to, you can say to staff:<\/p>\n \u9055\u3046\u533a\u306b\u5f15\u3063\u8d8a\u3057\u307e\u3059\u306e\u3067\u8ee2\u51fa\u5c4a\u3051\u3092\u3057\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059\u3002 Or if you\u2019re leaving Japan:<\/p>\n \u65e5\u672c\u304b\u3089\u5f15\u3063\u8d8a\u3057\u307e\u3059\u306e\u3067\u8ee2\u51fa\u5c4a\u3051\u3092\u3057\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059\u3002 You also need to cancel your health insurance at your ward\u2019s health insurance section:<\/p>\n \u65e5\u672c\u304b\u3089\u5f15\u3063\u8d8a\u3057\u307e\u3059\u306e\u3067\u56fd\u6c11\u5065\u5eb7\u4fdd\u967a\u3092\u8131\u9000\u3092\u3057\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059\u3002 Or if you\u2019re moving to a different ward:<\/p>\n \u9055\u3046\u533a\u306b\u5f15\u3063\u8d8a\u3057\u307e\u3059\u306e\u3067\u56fd\u6c11\u5065\u5eb7\u4fdd\u967a\u3092\u8131\u9000\u3092\u3057\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059\u3002 If you are leaving Japan and you\u2019re paying into the National Pension, you will be automatically disqualified from the pension scheme once your moving out notification is filed.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to get your residence certificate<\/b> (\u4f4f\u6c11\u7968 j\u016bminhy\u014d<\/i>) to prove that you have moved out. If you are leaving Japan and need to file a claim for your pension payments, then this is one of the documents that you will need. You will also need it if you\u2019re moving ward as it\u2019s one of the documents you need to file with your moving-in application form at your new ward office.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t relevant unless you really need, or want, to have your own inkan<\/i> \u5370\u9451 to use in place of your signature. They are widely used in Japan for major legal purposes, however in most normal day-to-day situations your signature will suffice.<\/p>\n If you wish to register your personal seal, all you need to do is fill in a seal registration form<\/strong> (inkan t\u014droku<\/i> \u5370\u9451\u767b\u9332) at the ward office. Your inkan must match the legal name on your passport or residence card, so you cannot register an inkan with kanji<\/i> unless your legal name is also in that kanji.<\/p>\n Depending on your particular ward, you may receive a card which you use to print off your seal certificate (inkan<\/i> sh\u014dmeisho<\/i> \u5370\u9451\u8a3c\u660e\u66f8) via an automated machine. Otherwise, you will receive a seal registration card, which you can use to get your certificate for a small fee each time you need it.<\/p>\n With a bit of patience<\/strong> and some basic Japanese phrases<\/strong> for the ward office, you\u2019ll be able to conduct your business there with little hassle. For more insight into what you can do at the ward office, read our article<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you want to get a great foundation on the Japanese language, why not take our 12-week beginner Japanese language course<\/b>? You can complete it entirely online and you\u2019ll be learning from one of Tokyo\u2019s top language schools, Akamonkai. Find out more on our website<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n
Date of change of address<\/b> i.e. your move-in date.<\/p>\n
Notification date<\/b> i.e. the date you\u2019re writing your application.<\/p>\n
Name<\/b> i.e. write your name exactly as it appears on your residence card with your surname first.<\/p>\n
Contact information<\/b><\/p>\n
Phone number<\/b><\/p>\n
Home<\/b>, circle this if this is your home phone number.<\/p>\n
Mobile phone<\/b>, circle this if you\u2019re filling in your mobile number.<\/p>\n
New address<\/b>, read more about how to read and write Japanese addresses here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Head of the household<\/b>, write your name here if you are the only person moving in. If you are moving in with other people write the name of the head of the household instead.<\/p>\n
Former address<\/b>. If you have just moved from overseas, you can put your country name (write in katakana if you can)<\/p>\n
The person in question<\/b> i.e. you, if you are the one filling out this form. Normally you will need to circle this to indicate that you are the person moving.<\/p>\n
People who have moved<\/b>.
Under this section you will need to write your name again. If you know katakana<\/em>, write your name in katakana in the small, thin box above where it says \u30d5\u30ea\u30ac\u30ca.<\/p>\n
Birthday<\/b>. Write in the order of year \u5e74, month \u6708, day \u65e5.<\/p>\n
Common era<\/b> i.e. the Western calendar. Circle this when writing dates.<\/p>\n
Sex<\/b>. Circle \u7537 otoko<\/i> for male and \u5973 onna<\/i> for female.<\/p>\n
Family relationship<\/b>. Here, write \u672c\u4eba to show that the person who is moving, is also the person submitting the application.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/pension-booklet.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSigning up for health insurance<\/b><\/h2>\n
Kokumin kenk\u014d hoken ni kany\u016b o shitai desu<\/i>
<\/i>I would like to register for the National Health Insurance.<\/b><\/p>\nRegistering for pension<\/b><\/h2>\n
Kokumin nenkin ni kany\u016b o shitai desu<\/i>
<\/i>I would like to register for the National Pension.<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Blog-photo-watermarking.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMoving out of your ward<\/b><\/h2>\n
Chigau ku ni hikkoshimasu node, tenshutsu todoke o shitai desu.
<\/i>I\u2019m moving to a different ward and I would like to file my notification of moving out.<\/b><\/p>\n
Nihon kara hikkoshimasu node, tenshutsu todoke o shitai desu.
<\/i>I\u2019m leaving Japan so I would like to file my notification of moving out.<\/b><\/p>\n
Nihon kara hikkoshimasu node,<\/i> kokumin kenk\u014d hoken o dattai o shitai desu.
<\/i>I\u2019m leaving Japan and I would like to cancel my health insurance.<\/b><\/p>\n
Chigau ku ni hikkoshimasu node,<\/i> kokumin kenk\u014d hoken o dattai o shitai desu.
<\/i>I\u2019m moving to a different ward and I would like to cancel my health insurance<\/b><\/p>\nRegistering your personal seal<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"Ward](\"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Ward-office-checklist-EN.png\")
<\/p>\n