When you leave a job in Japan, the documents to secure from your employer are the rishokuhyo (separation slip), your employment insurance card, and your gensen choshuhyo (withholding statement). The critical one is the rishokuhyo: if you are under 59, your employer is not required to prepare it unless you ask for it. Separately, you have 14 days to switch to National Pension if you are not starting another job right away.
Leaving a job in Japan is mostly a paperwork problem. What takes one sentence while you still work there becomes a phone call to a company you no longer belong to. And at least one key document is only created if you request it. Here is the list and the deadlines, taken from the agencies that publish them.
What to get from your employer
| Document | What it is for | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| Rishokuhyo (離職票) | Claiming unemployment benefits at Hello Work | Under 59: only issued if you ask |
| Employment insurance card (雇用保険被保険者証) | Give to your next employer | Meant to reach you, but often held by the company until you leave |
| Gensen choshuhyo (源泉徴収票) | Year-end adjustment or your own tax return | Issued after you leave. Ask when you can expect it |
| Basic pension number notice (or pension book) | Pension switch, next employer | Pension books stopped being issued in April 2022 |
| Taishoku shomeisho (退職証明書) | NHI enrolment, visa steps, proof of employment | The duty to issue arises only on request |
The separation slip is opt-in, not automatic
This is the one people miss. When an employee leaves, the employer must file the employment insurance loss-of-status notification with Hello Work within 10 days counting from the day after the qualifying event. But the separation certificate behind the rishokuhyo works differently.
In other words, say nothing and it may never be created. For people aged 59 and over it is required regardless.
Ask for it when you give notice, in writing if you can, even if you already have another job lined up. Offers fall through, and recovering a rishokuhyo later means going back to a company you have already left.
A certificate of employment shows only what you ask for
The taishoku shomeisho comes from Article 22 of the Labor Standards Act. If a worker requests a certificate covering period of employment, type of work, position in the business, wages, or reason for separation, the employer must issue it without delay.
The mirror rule matters just as much: the employer must not include items the worker did not request. If you would rather the reason for leaving not appear, request the other items only. If you need it on record that the separation was the company’s decision, include it.
Unemployment benefits: eligibility and the clock
For the basic allowance you generally need at least 12 months of insured periods in total during the 2 years before separation. If you qualify as a specified recipient (bankruptcy, dismissal and similar) or a specified-reason leaver (a contract not renewed, among others), that eases to 6 months in total during the 1 year before separation.
It is one year plus 30 days if your prescribed benefit days are 330, and one year plus 60 days if they are 360.
Whatever you do not draw inside that window is gone.
If illness, injury, pregnancy, childbirth, or child-rearing leaves you unable to work for 30 days or more, the period can be extended by those days, up to a total of 3 years. Sort this out before the window closes, not after.
The 14-day item
Leaving employment ends your Employees’ Pension coverage. If you are not starting another covered job immediately, you switch to National Pension as a Category 1 insured person.
- Who: people aged 20 to 59 living in Japan who are not enrolled in Employees’ Pension
- When: within 14 days from the day after your last day
- Where: your city, ward, town, or village office — not the pension office
- What: the National Pension insured person notification form, plus something showing your basic pension number or My Number
- Who files: you, or the head of your household
If the premiums are hard to manage right now, ask about deferral and exemption at the same counter. Leaving contributions simply unpaid and having them formally waived are not the same thing later on.
What your next employer will want
- Your employment insurance card
- The withholding statement from your previous employer, so they can run your year-end adjustment
- Something showing your basic pension number
- Dependent deduction forms and My Number confirmation
The withholding statement is the one to chase. The National Tax Agency states that where the previous salary and the income tax and social insurance withheld from it cannot be confirmed, the year-end adjustment cannot be carried out and the person settles up through their own tax return instead. Not difficult, but better known in advance than discovered in January.
Your employment insurance card is supposed to be passed to you through your employer once enrolment goes through. In practice many companies keep it on file to avoid it being lost and hand it over when you leave, so ask if you have never seen it.
On the pension side the paperwork changed. People joining a Japanese pension scheme for the first time since April 2022 receive a basic pension number notice instead of a pension book. If you already hold a pension book, no notice is issued to you and you simply keep the book.
This article is for general information only and is not legal or tax advice. Rules can apply differently to your situation, so check with your local Hello Work, pension office, or a qualified professional before acting.
Sources: Employment Insurance Act Enforcement Regulations Art. 7; Miyagi Labour Bureau, employer procedures for employment insurance; Tochigi Labour Bureau, certification on separation (Labor Standards Act Art. 22); Hello Work Nagoya-Minami, employment insurance card; Hello Work Internet Service, basic allowance; Japan Pension Service, National Pension enrolment and the basic pension number notice; National Tax Agency No.2674, year-end adjustment for mid-year joiners.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Should I still ask for a rishokuhyo if I already have another job?
A. Yes. Under 59, the employer may skip preparing it when you do not request it, so staying silent can mean it never exists. If the new job falls through, you would have to go back to a company you have already left.
Q. Does the certificate of employment have to state why I left?
A. No. Article 22 of the Labor Standards Act limits the certificate to the items the worker requests, and bars the employer from adding items you did not ask for. Request only what you need.
Q. Can foreign residents claim unemployment benefits?
A. Nationality itself is not the barrier if you were insured and meet the conditions. The allowance goes to people who are able and willing to work and are actively job hunting, so check what your residence status permits alongside the insurance rules.
Q. What if I leave Japan right after quitting?
A. The Category 1 National Pension switch applies to people aged 20 to 59 living in Japan, so leaving the country changes the picture. If your departure date is set, ask at your municipal counter before you go.
Key Takeaways
- Under 59, the rishokuhyo is issued only if you ask. Say so on the way out.
- Employers file the loss-of-status notification within 10 days.
- A certificate of employment carries only the items you requested.
- Unemployment benefits expire one year after separation; extendable to 3.
- The National Pension switch is due within 14 days, at city hall.
Sources
The figures and requirements in this article were checked against the official sources below. Rules change — confirm before you file. (Checked: 21 August 2026)
- Hello Work — Basic Allowance (Japanese) Eligibility (12 months of coverage in the 2 years before leaving), one-year benefit period, extension of up to three more years