PH-Japan social security accord to take effect in August

Philippines and Japan have officially exchanged diplomatic notes on the completion of their respective constitutional requirements for the effectivity of their social security agreement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced Friday. (Pixabay photo)

MANILA– Philippines and Japan have officially exchanged diplomatic notes on the completion of their respective constitutional requirements for the effectivity of their social security agreement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced Friday.

The “Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and Japan on Social Security” will take effect on Aug. 1, 2018.

This will entitle both Filipino and Japanese nationals to coverage of social security benefits in either country.

Employees sent from Japan to the Philippines as well as those sent from the Philippines to Japan are currently subject to compulsory coverage under the social security systems of both states.

According to the DFA, the agreement will enable the establishment of eligibility to receive a pension by totalizing the periods of social security coverage in both Tokyo and Manila.

Upon its effectivity, those employees temporarily dispatched for a period of five years or less to either Japan or the Philippines will, in principle, be covered only by the pension system of the country from which employees are dispatched.

The DFA said the agreement is also expected to reduce the burden imposed on companies and employees, facilitating further people-to-people and economic exchanges between the two nations.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, who was then Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, sponsored the Senate Resolution concurring with the ratification of the Agreement by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in February 2017.

The National Diet (Legislature) of Japan ratified the agreement in April 2016.

Based on Philippine embassy in Tokyo figures, more than 250,000 Filipinos are in Japan. Of this number, more than 200,000 are permanent migrants, while around 50,000 are with temporary status.

Apart from Japan, the Philippines has bilateral agreements on social security with Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.