Work Injury in Japan: How to File a 労災 Claim | MyKyoten

Last verified: 2026. This guide is based on Immigration Bureau regulations, Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare guidelines, and standard Japanese administrative practice. It is informational only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed immigration attorney or official government sources for case-specific guidance.

Your employer may pressure you to use your personal health insurance instead of filing a 労災 claim. Accepting that means you pay 30% of treatment costs yourself, forfeit lost-wage compensation, and waive legal protections you are fully entitled to regardless of your visa status.

Who Actually Gets Covered, and What Does It Pay?

労災保険 (Workers' Accident Compensation Insurance) covers every worker employed in Japan. Full-time, part-time, temporary, and yes, undocumented workers too. Your visa category is irrelevant. The legal basis is the 労働者災害補償保険法, which applies based on employment relationship, not immigration status.

There are three main benefit types you need to know:

療養補償給付 (medical treatment benefits): Your treatment costs are covered at 100%. Zero out of pocket at a designated hospital. Compare that to using 健康保険, where you pay 30% of every bill yourself. For a serious injury requiring surgery, that 30% can easily reach 500,000 yen or more.

休業補償給付 (lost wage benefits): If your injury keeps you off work, you receive 80% of your average daily wage starting from the 4th day of absence. The first three days are covered by your employer directly under 労働基準法. This continues until you can return to work or your condition stabilizes.

障害補償給付 (disability benefits): If you have lasting impairment, benefits range from a lump-sum payment to a ongoing pension, depending on the severity grade (第1級 through 第14級).

| Benefit Type | 労災 Cost to You | 健康保険 Cost to You | |---|---|---| | Medical treatment | ¥0 | 30% of all costs | | Lost wages (from Day 4) | 80% of daily wage paid | Nothing paid | | Disability compensation | Graded pension or lump sum | Nothing paid | | Prescription drugs | ¥0 | 30% of cost |

This is where people mess up. They agree to use their health insurance card in the hospital because their employer says it is "simpler." It is not simpler for you. It is simpler for your employer, because filing 労災 creates an official record of a workplace injury.

→ Use the Document Decoder to translate and understand your Japanese administrative documents.

What to Do in the First 72 Hours

The hospital you go to matters immediately.

If you can choose, go to a 労災指定病院 (designated workers' accident hospital). These hospitals bill the 労働基準監督署 directly. You pay nothing upfront. You can find the nearest one on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare website or by calling the 労働基準監督署 in your area.

If you go to a non-designated hospital, you pay out of pocket first and then claim reimbursement later using 様式第7号. You will get the money back, but it takes time and paperwork.

At the hospital reception desk, say clearly: 「労災で受診したいのですが」 ("I would like to be treated under workers' accident compensation"). Do not hand over your health insurance card first. Once they process it under 健康保険, reversing it is bureaucratically painful and sometimes impossible in practice.

Here is the phrase your employer may use: "とりあえず保険証を使って、後で精算しましょう" ("Just use your insurance card for now and we'll sort it out later"). Based on common experience reported by foreign residents, this "later" often never comes. Do not accept this. Respond with: 「労災申請をしたいので、労災で処理してください」 and hold firm.

⚠️ Warning: If you use your health insurance card at a non-labor-accident hospital and later want to switch to 労災, the procedure requires the hospital, the health insurance association, and the 労働基準監督署 to all coordinate. It is possible but adds weeks of delay and administrative friction.

The Step-by-Step Claim Filing Process

You will need specific forms. These are available at any 労働基準監督署 office, or downloadable from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare website.

Step 1: Get the right form. - For medical costs: 様式第5号 (at a 労災指定病院) or 様式第7号 (at a non-designated hospital) - For lost wages: 様式第8号

Step 2: Fill in your sections. These forms have a worker section and an employer certification section. You complete your part including your name, address, the date and circumstances of the injury, your workplace details, and the nature of your work.

Step 3: Ask your employer to complete their section. The employer certifies the employment relationship and that the injury occurred at work. This is where friction happens.

Step 4: Submit to your 労働基準監督署. Bring the completed forms, your residence card, and any medical receipts or records. The office is usually located in the same building as your local 労働基準局. Submit in person if possible.

Step 5: For lost wages, attach proof of your wage history. Pay stubs covering the three months before the injury are standard. If you need help reading your Japanese pay slips to pull the right figures, the Payslip Decoder can help you identify the correct wage line items.

### What If Your Employer Refuses to Sign?

This happens. Based on reports from foreign residents and support organizations, employer non-cooperation is one of the most common barriers foreign workers face.

You can still file. The 労働基準監督署 is legally authorized to accept claims where the employer section is left blank or partially completed. Write a brief statement explaining that your employer declined to cooperate. The 監督署 has the authority to investigate and certify the employment relationship independently.

Do not let an unsigned form stop you from submitting. Submit it anyway with an attached explanation.

Reality Check: The 労働基準監督署 exists specifically to enforce labor law compliance. They have seen employer non-cooperation before. Their job is to determine whether the injury qualifies, not to protect employers from accountability. Bring any evidence you have: work schedules, messages from supervisors, photos of the work site, anything.

A Filipino nurse on a Specified Skilled Worker visa at a care facility in Kanagawa injured her back while transferring a patient. Her facility manager told her to use her health insurance and take paid leave. She instead visited the 労働基準監督署 in Yokohama, submitted 様式第5号 with the employer section blank and an explanation letter. The office opened an investigation, confirmed her employment, and the claim was processed. She received 80% of her daily wage (approximately ¥6,400 per day based on her salary) from the 4th day of absence through her six-week recovery period, totaling roughly ¥270,000 in compensation she would have forfeited otherwise.

Deadlines, Statutes of Limitations, and What Happens If You Wait Too Long

療養補償給付 (medical claims): 2-year statute of limitations from the date of each medical expense.

休業補償給付 (lost wage claims): 2 years from each day of missed work. This means each day of absence is technically its own claim date, so delayed filing does not automatically bar you from all compensation.

障害補償給付 and survivor benefits: 5 years from the date the disability was recognized or the death occurred.

Missing these deadlines generally means the claim is extinguished. There is no standard grace period. File as early as possible.

If a third party caused your injury (a vehicle accident during work duties, for example), you also need to file a 第三者行為災害届 with the 労働基準監督署. This form coordinates between your 労災 claim and any civil liability claim against the third party. Failing to file this when applicable can create complications with overlapping payments later.

⚠️ Warning: Some foreign workers wait to file because they fear employer retaliation or immigration consequences. That delay is understandable but costly. The 2-year clock runs regardless of your personal circumstances. File first, address concerns second.

What if you have already left the employer by the time you decide to file? You can still file. 労災 covers injuries that occurred during employment. The claim is tied to the injury date, not your current employment status.

What if you have already left Japan? This is more complicated. Benefits like ongoing disability pensions can technically continue, but practically managing them from abroad requires a legal representative or shiteinin in Japan. Consult a 社会保険労務士 (licensed social insurance labor consultant) before leaving if you have an open or potential claim. For a full picture of financial and administrative issues to resolve before departing, see the Leaving Japan Calculator.

Filing 労災 Will Not Destroy Your Visa

This is the fear that keeps people quiet. It should not.

Your employer cannot legally terminate you while you are receiving treatment for a work injury and during the 30-day period after your recovery. This protection is written directly into 労働基準法 第19条. Violating it exposes the employer to criminal penalties, not you.

Filing 労災 does not trigger any immigration investigation or flag on your residence record. The 労働基準監督署 and the Immigration Services Agency operate separately and do not share claim data for the purpose of visa enforcement. Your residence card status is not affected by a 労災 filing.

Even undocumented workers who file 労災 are not automatically referred to immigration authorities by the 監督署. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has separated labor rights enforcement from immigration enforcement in this context. Honestly, this surprises many people, but the policy logic is that worker protections collapse entirely if undocumented workers cannot safely report injuries.

That said, if your visa has separate compliance issues unrelated to the injury, those exist independently. If you are concerned about the overall picture of your visa situation, the Immigration Risk Checker can help you identify any unrelated issues worth addressing. For workers on employment-based visas, also review the work visas and employment stability guide to understand what job changes during recovery might mean for your status.

Free multilingual legal support is available. The 外国人労働者相談コーナー (Foreign Workers' Consultation Corner) operates at 労働基準監督署 offices and many 労働局 prefectural offices. JICA and NPO organizations like POSSE and Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan provide consultation in multiple languages including English, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Nepali, and Chinese. The 外国人技能実習機構 (OTIT) also handles cases involving technical intern trainees specifically.

Your next step: Go to the nearest 労働基準監督署, ask for 様式第5号 (and 様式第8号 if you have missed work), fill in your section today, and submit it regardless of whether your employer cooperates. Bring your residence card, any medical records, and pay stubs if available.

Can my employer cancel my work visa sponsorship if I file a 労災 claim? Terminating your employment specifically because you filed 労災 violates 労働基準法 第19条 and is illegal. Visa sponsorship cancellation tied to retaliatory dismissal is challengeable through the 労働基準監督署 or labor tribunal. The act of filing alone does not create any immigration notification.

What if I was injured during overtime my employer said was unofficial? Unofficial overtime (サービス残業) is still employment time legally. If you can show through messages, access logs, or witness accounts that you were working, the injury may still qualify. Submit your claim with supporting evidence and let the 労働基準監督署 investigate the employment circumstances.

My employer enrolled me in 健康保険 but not 労災. Does that mean I am not covered? No. 労災保険 enrollment is mandatory for employers the moment they hire anyone. It is not optional and does not require separate employee enrollment. Even if your employer never registered, you are legally covered and can still file. The employer bears penalties for non-registration, not you.

If you received a notice related to your health insurance or are trying to understand what your current insurance actually covers, the Document Decoder can translate and explain Japanese insurance cards, notices, and enrollment documents so you know exactly what you are working with before you walk into that hospital.