Japan Social Security Treaty Countries: The 2026 Map

Japan social security treaty countries are the states whose bilateral agreement with Japan can exempt a posted worker from double pension payments and let split-career months combine toward vesting.¹ The roster below is date-stamped because new agreements keep taking effect and old third-party lists go stale without warning.¹²

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Japan Pension Service English pages. This article is general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice; for your specific case, consult a licensed social insurance labor consultant (sharoushi) for your country's scope.

Overview

This map answers two questions per country: does an agreement exist, and what does it cover.¹ Coverage scope differs by bilateral, so the map pairs every roster entry with its scope row rather than a single universal summary.¹³ Readers of treaty states use their own row only; readers of non-treaty states fall outside both treaty functions.¹

The treaty-country list as of 2026

As of 2026-09, the partner roster published through the Japan Pension Service hub and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare comprises 22 states (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with the Japan Pension Service): Germany, the United Kingdom, Korea, the United States, Belgium, France, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, Brazil, Switzerland, Hungary, India, Luxembourg, the Philippines, Slovakia, China, Finland, and Sweden.¹²

The list continues to expand (as of 2026-09). Treat any undated roster on a third-party site as suspect and recheck the Japan Pension Service hub before relying on it for payroll or vesting plans.¹

Scope differs by country

Some treaties cover old-age pensions only. Others add disability and survivors. Posting relief and totalization do not always travel together, and the per-country page or PDF governs in every case.¹³

How to read the scope columns

The table below compresses the published scope into comparable columns. It states each pattern at article level; line-item thresholds and procedures are confirmed per country against the authoritative row.¹³

Country group	Posting relief	Totalization	Disability and survivors	As of
United States	Yes, up to 5 years	Yes	Disability yes1	2026-091
United Kingdom	Yes, up to 5 years	Yes	Old-age, disability, survivors1	2026-091
Germany	Yes	Yes	Comprehensive1	2026-091
Korea	Yes	Yes, Employees Pension side	Limited1	2026-091
Brazil	Yes	Yes	Comprehensive1	2026-091
Other 17 partners	Per-country PDF governs3	Per-country PDF governs3	Per-country PDF governs3	2026-091

The table summarizes the scope pattern as published (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with the Japan Pension Service). The per-country PDF remains controlling where this summary and the PDF appear to differ.³

Read your own row before planning payroll or vesting

A Germany scope answer is not a Korea answer. Confirm the row for your state on the Japan Pension Service hub before acting on either treaty function.¹³

Where to confirm your country's row

The authoritative row for each state is the Japan Pension Service per-country page or PDF linked from the agreements hub.¹ Home-state offices mirror the scope from their side, for example the Social Security Administration status pages for the United States.⁴ When the two sides appear to conflict, the bilateral text behind both pages controls.¹⁴

What the map does not promise

No row generalizes to another bilateral. A posting cap, a disability inclusion, or a totalization limit stated for one partner says nothing about the next partner's row.¹³

A treaty in force on paper still needs its domestic procedures to deliver relief in practice. The certificate must be issued and filed for posting relief, and the claim must be routed through the correct intake for totalization to matter.¹

Good to know

An old list can mislead after a new treaty takes effect

Undated third-party rosters miss newly effective agreements and overstate relief for states still negotiating. Check the hub date-stamp and the 2026 roster above against it before assuming coverage.¹²

Scope limits decide which benefit you can totalize

A pension-only treaty cannot totalize a disability claim even when old-age totalization works cleanly. Survivors coverage follows the same per-row logic and must be read separately.¹³

Posting relief and totalization do not always travel together

Some agreements provide one function without the other. Confirm both columns for your state rather than assuming a posting exemption implies a vesting sum, or the reverse.¹³

See also

• US-Japan Tax Treaty: Mechanics and Pitfalls
• Non-US Residents in Japan: UK, EU, Australian, and Canadian Tax Rules
• US Citizenship-Based Taxation for Americans Living in Japan
• Hiring a Cross-Border Tax Advisor
• Totalization Agreements with Japan: What They Do
• US-Japan Totalization Agreement: Rules for US Persons

References

Footnotes

1. Japan Pension Service (Nihon Nenkin Kiko). Social Security Agreements hub and country scope pages (English). https://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/english/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸

2. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). Social security agreement partner list and scope notes. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/social-security/ ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Japan Pension Service. Per-country agreement PDFs (coverage scope: pension, disability, survivors, posting relief). https://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/english/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

4. US Social Security Administration. Status of totalization agreements (partner list cross-check). https://www.ssa.gov/international/status.html ↩ ↩²