Japan’s Average Monthly Nursing-Care Insurance Premiums Reach ¥6,000

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, the average national monthly nursing-care insurance premiums to be paid by Japanese seniors aged 65 and over for the 2021–23 fiscal years is ¥6,014, a ¥145 increase compared to ¥5,869 for the 2018–20 fiscal years. The increase is due to the aging of the population, a rise in the number of people using nursing-care services, and higher nursing-care fees. The average for the period between 2000 and 2002, when the nursing-care insurance system was launched, was ¥2,911, which means that premiums have more than doubled in 20 years.

Nursing-care insurance premiums are reviewed every three years by each of Japan’s 1,571 local governments and extended associations for nursing care. For the latest review, 48.6% of the municipalities raised their premiums, 36.2% left them unchanged, and 15.2% lowered them. The highest monthly premiums are ¥9,800 for Aogashima, Tokyo, ¥8,300 for Gojōme, Akita Prefecture, and ¥8,200 for Katsurao, Fukushima Prefecture. The lowest premiums are ¥3,300 in Otoineppu, Hokkaidō, and Kusatsu, Gunma Prefecture, and ¥3,374 in Ogasawara, Tokyo. Even though both Aogashima and Ogasawara are communities on remote islands administered by Tokyo, the annual nursing-care premiums of the former are ¥77,000 more than those of the latter.

As of the end of 2020, there were 35.7 million seniors aged 65 or older in Japan. Among them, 6.7 million, or 18.7%, are certified as requiring nursing care or other support. In addition, a large segment of the baby-boom generation in Japan will be entering the senior age bracket from fiscal 2022, which is expected to increase the need for nursing care and further drive up insurance premiums.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)