According to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health’s press release, the social security agreement will affect the social security, and particularly pension security, of people who move or have moved between Finland and Japan. The agreement lays down provisions on the payment of Finnish earnings-related pensions and Japanese pensions to people residing in the territory of the other Contracting State. In addition, the agreement includes provisions on the legislation applicable to pension and unemployment insurance.  

The social security agreement will offer relief for Finnish businesses operating in Japan. Workers posted to Japan will be subject to the laws of Finland, which makes it possible to avoid double pension insurance contributions. People who have returned or moved to Finland from Japan will benefit from the agreement. They may be entitled to Japanese pension even if they were not covered by the Japanese pension system long enough to receive pension under the Japanese law.   

“The agreement will improve the status and social security of people who have moved between Finland and Japan. Inter-authority collaboration based on the agreement will make applying for an earnings-related pension easier,” says Minister of Social Affairs and Health Hanna Sarkkinen. 

“The social security agreement between Finland and Japan will make it easier for Finnish business representatives to work in Japan and Japanese business representatives to work in Finland. The agreement is an important step in strengthening bilateral relations and improving the operating conditions for businesses. It will also make Finland a more attractive investment environment for Japanese businesses,” says Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari. 

The Finnish Parliament approved the social security agreement in May 2021. The agreement’s entry into force requires that an official exchange of notes takes place between Finland and Japan. By an exchange of notes, the Contracting States, Finland and Japan, notify each other that the agreement can enter into force by the agreed date. The social security agreement will enter into force on the first day of the third month after the Contracting States have exchanged diplomatic notes, namely on 1 February 2022. Separate provisions on the entry into force of the agreement will be laid down by government decree. 

Webinar on social security agreement to be held in January 

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Finland in Tokyo and the Finnish Centre for Pensions will organise a webinar (in Finnish) on the social security agreement on 21 January 2022. At the webinar, experts from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Finnish Centre for Pensions will tell more about the content and effects of the agreement.

More information (in Finnish) about the webinar and the link to the registration

Inquiries: 

Essi Rentola, Director, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, phone +358 295 163 155,
firstname.lastname@gov.fi
Pia Sarivaara, Desk Officer (Japan), Ministry for Foreign Affairs, phone +358 505 351 243, firstname.lastname@formin.fi  
Mirva Laitinen, Head of Unit, Department for International Services, Finnish Centre for Pensions,
phone +358 29 411 2494, firstname.lastname@etk.fi

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