Foreign Workers and Health Insurance in Japan: The Case of Japanese Brazilians. Hiroshi Kojima. Abstract. This is a preliminary analysis of a 2004 survey of ...
The Japanese Journal of Population, Vol.4, No.1 (March 2006)
Foreign Workers and Health Insurance in Japan: The Case of Japanese Brazilians Hiroshi Kojima
Abstract This is a preliminary analysis of a 2004 survey of Japanese Brazilians conducted by Iwata City in Shizuoka Prefecture.
According to the survey results, only 28.3% of Japanese Brazilians are
covered by any health insurance.
Among them a little more than 30% are covered by the
Employer’s (Health) Insurance (Shakai Hoken) while only a little more than 40% by the National Health Insurance (Kokumin Kenko Hoken) and a little more than 20% by other types of health insurance.
This analysis has revealed that the coverage and type of health insurance affect medical
care (health-seeking) behaviors of Japanese Brazilians when they get sick or injured.
It has also
found that the ability to collect information and to communicate, including fluency in Japanese language, and the necessity for health and medical services (particularly among those with infants and young children) also affect health insurance coverage and medical care behaviors.
As previous
studies found, this analysis has found that the type of employment (direct or indirect) affects the coverage and type of health insurance, and that the characteristics related to the employment type, including monthly income, housing, work hours, number of job changes, may also affect the ability to collect information and to communicate, and the necessity for health and medical services. Japan’s social integration policy for international migrants, including health insurance, medical care and language-teaching programs, should strengthen the linkage between international migration policy and social security policy. Key Words: Japanese Brazilians, international migrants, health insurance, medical care
returning home is only up to three years’
Introduction
contribution.
In Japan, many foreign workers are not
Foreign workers who expect to
Most
stay in Japan for more than 3 years are likely to
undocumented foreign workers are not covered
lose additional returns on their contribution
by the Japanese health insurance program due to
unless they come back to stay and contribute for
their
25 years in total.
covered
by
health
residence
status.
insurance.
Even
documented
foreign workers are not necessarily covered
Thus, many foreign workers have an
partly because their contribution is collected
incentive to avoid the contribution to the
together with the contribution to the Japanese
Japanese old-age insurance program. In doing so,
old-age insurance program, which requires at
they must unwillingly avoid the contribution to
least a 25-year payment for entitlement to receive
the Japanese health insurance program.
pension.
of
foreign workers are not covered by health
reimbursement when they opt out at the time of
insurance also because their Japanese employers
The
maximum
amount
78
Many
The Japanese Journal of Population, Vol.4, No.1 (March 2006) naturally have an incentive to avoid making a
shift
matching contribution for their workers in order
subcontracting/outsourcing companies (wherein
to cut labor costs.
the subcontracting company manages its workers
They can also avoid the
some
factory
workers
from
of
at the factory) to dispatching companies (wherein
employment is for less than two months, which
the factory manages the workers) and which may
has increased the number of Japanese and foreign
also increase the number of workers on a
workers on a short-term contract of less than two
short-term contract.
months.
foreign workers is not clear because language
matching
contribution
if
the
contract
Among foreign workers, Japanese
However, its effect on
Brazilians are often working on a short-term
and other skills are required to manage them.
contract because they are often employed
any case, there may be no change to the tendency
indirectly
of employers to avoid the matching contribution
by
subcontracting/outsourcing
In
to the Employer’s Insurance Program.
companies which subcontract workers for work done at a factory on a weekly or monthly basis,
Private medical insurance in Japan only
instead of being employed directly by the factory
supplements the parts not covered by the
or the company owning it.
patient’s Japanese health insurance programs and
Consequently, many
Japanese Brazilians cannot join the Employer’s
cannot be used as an alternative.
Some
Insurance (Shakai Hoken) Program.
short-term foreign workers are enrolled in a
Some subcontracting companies encourage
travel insurance policy at home or in Japan, but
their workers to join the National Health
many of them end up being uninsured, putting
Insurance (Kokumin Kenko Hoken) Program.
them at greater health risk.
However, the National Health Insurance Program,
with the travel insurance is that it does not cover
which is a municipality-based program and
the whole family and the children can be exposed
primarily
to an even greater health risk.
for
the
self-employed
and
the
Another problem
non-employed, also requires those covered to pay
However, it is not easy to make special
contributions to the National Pension (Kokumin
legal arrangements for foreign workers under the
Nenkin) Program.
principle of equality among nationalities.
In addition, the contributions
are usually higher than for the Employer’s
Japanese
Insurance Program because there is no matching
contributions from foreign workers and their
contribution from the employers even though it is
employers, it may increase underground work
subsidized by tax revenue.
even
Due to the
Government
by
documented
tries
to
If the
foreign
enforce
workers,
Program’s deficits, some local municipalities do
particularly Japanese Brazilians who have a
not
subcontracting
special residence status to stay and work in Japan
companies (often Japanese Brazilians among
without any qualification requirements or time
foreign workers) to join the Program because
limit since the 1989 revision of the immigration
they are virtually employed continuously for
control law.
more than two months by the same company and
control law, but the labor law should also be
are supposed to join the Employer’s Insurance
coordinated with the social security law to
Program.
increase the coverage of foreign workers by the
permit
employees
of
health insurance and possibly the old-age and
A new law to allow the dispatch of non-specialized
workers
(including
Thus, not only the immigration
labor accident insurances.
factory
According to the results of a survey
workers) was implemented in 2004, which may
79
The Japanese Journal of Population, Vol.4, No.1 (March 2006) conducted by Iwata City in 2004, only 28.3% of
Literature Review
Japanese Brazilians are covered by any health
There
insurance.
empirical
Among them a little more than 30%
are
not
studies
on
too the
many
Japanese
health
insurance
(Health)
coverage of foreigners and on health behaviors,
Insurance while only a little more than 40% by
while there is an increasing number of studies on
the National Health Insurance and a little more
these topics in the US and Europe (e.g., LeClere
than 20% by other types of health insurance.
et al. 1994, Ku and Matani 2001, Yu et al. 2004,
Major problems regarding the medical care of
Prentice et al. 2005, Migrations: Études 2002,
foreigners are broken down into the following
2004) due to their policy-oriented interests.
two by Ikegami (2002): 1) burden of medical
relative lack of Japanese empirical studies is
care costs due to non-coverage by health
partly due to the limited availability of both
insurance; and 2) communication gap at medical
micro-
care facilities due to lack of Japanese language
collected for administrative purposes in Japan,
fluency.
and partly due to the limited interests of Japanese
are
covered
by
the
Employer’s
and
scholars
This study examines the determinants of
macro-data,
studying
particularly
international
The
those
migrants.
care
Fukawa (1997) may be the only study showing
medical care
macro-data for the health insurance coverage of
facilities, drawing on micro-data from the 2004
Japanese Brazilians at the prefecture level, which
survey of Japanese Brazilians in Iwata City.
It
showed a relatively low coverage by the National
tries to derive implications for possible measures
Health Insurance and the variation among local
to help foreign workers get Japanese health
municipalities.
insurance coverage and maintain a healthy life,
first survey-based work on the health and
with a focus on Japanese Brazilians.
health-related behaviors of Japanese South
health
insurance
coverage,
behaviors and troubles with
medical
It also
Hochi et al. (1992) may be the
seeks to explore the ways to modify and
Americans including Brazilians.
coordinate immigration control, labor and social
Ikegami (1998) drew policy implications from
security laws without distorting the equality
the results of a survey of participants in a
among workers of different nationalities and
medical
without endangering the health of foreign
Unfortunately, these Japanese surveys tend to be
workers staying in Japan.
too small in scale or tend to use samples too
This is particularly
NGO’s
free
health
Hayashi and
examination.
important for Japanese Brazilians because many
selected for statistical analysis.
of them are likely to stay in Japan more or less
2004 Iwata survey had about 500 usable cases,
permanently.
which
Kojima
preliminary
The present author has been interested in
(2005a)
analysis
on
has
However, the conducted
health
a
insurance
the social integration of international migrants
coverage, medical care behaviors and attitudes,
and has conducted both theoretical research (e.g.,
while Chitose (2005) and Takenoshita (2005a,
Kojima 1993) and empirical research (e.g.,
2005b, 2006) analyzed them from a different
Kojima 2003, 2005b).
focus (children and income).
This is an extension of
Kojima (2005a), which shares with Kojima
No hypotheses are constructed in advance
(2005b) the author’s interest in the relationship
due to the lack of past empirical studies in Japan.
between migration and health.
However, this study will broadly draw on the analytical frameworks presented by the (U.S.)
80
The Japanese Journal of Population, Vol.4, No.1 (March 2006) Institute of Medicine (2001: Fig. A.1, 2.2; 2003:
report (Iwata City 2005), the aim of the survey
Fig. 1.1, 1.2) for the interpretation of the results.
was
This is still a preliminary study in this sense.
improvement of measures for foreign citizens
to
collect
basic
information
for
the
and to promote multicultural cohesion in its policy planning.
Data and Method
Americans
Iwata City is located near the western end
The subjects were South
(mostly
Brazilians
of
Japanese
of Shizuoka Prefecture (near the center of the
descent) aged 18 and above living in the city
main island along the Pacific coast), next to the
(with usable questionnaires for 497 respondents).
major industrial center of Hamamatsu City and
The
not too far from Toyota City in the eastern part of
distributed, and the self-enumerated ones were
Aichi Prefecture (capital city: Nagoya).
Iwata
collected between August and October 2004.
is also an industrial city itself with manufacturers
The items questioned included demographics,
of
to
work, housing, health insurance and medical care,
a
living conditions and attitudes, language learning,
machinery
automobiles
including
and
those
motorcycles.
related It
has
questionnaires
in
Portuguese
were
children’s education and future plans.
population of almost 170,000, of which almost 5% are registered foreigners after the integration
This analysis has applied, to the 2004
of the city with surrounding towns on April 1,
Iwata survey data, the binomial logit model with
2005.
The percentage of foreigners was about
stepwise selection of independent variables
6% at the time the survey was conducted between
constructed from answers to related questions as
August and October 2004 even though the total
well as demographic, socioeconomic and cultural
population was nearly one half the current
characteristics.
population.
procedure.
More than three quarters of
It has used the SAS/LOGISTIC The frequency distribution of
registered foreigners are Brazilians (mostly those
dependent variables is presented in Appendix 1
of Japanese descent and their family members).
and that of independent variables in Appendix 2.
In terms of absolute number, Iwata City had 6,597 registered Brazilians as of June 30,
Results
2005.
1. Health Insurance Coverage
But the city proper had 3,713 as of
Table 1 shows the results of the logit
March 31, 2004, which is one year before the The
model with stepwise selection for determinants
number of Brazilians in 2004 has almost doubled
of health insurance coverage, type of insurance
from 1997 (1,875) and has grown by 50% from
and reason for non-coverage.
2001 (2,566).
based on the response to Question 21 which is as
integration
with
surrounding towns.
The proportion of foreigners to
The analysis is
follows:
the entire population has grown steadily from 0.9% in 1991, 2.0% in 1994, 3.6% in 2000 to 5.3% in 2004.
Q21. Are you covered by any type of
It has declined a little to 4.9% in
2005 after the integration.
health insurance?
In terms of
1) Covered (Circle one that is applicable)
percentages among households, however, those
A.
headed by foreigners represent 8.2% in 2005.
Health
Insurance
(Kokumin Kenko Hoken)
This study draws on micro-data from the B.
sample survey of Japanese Brazilians conducted by Iwata City in 2004.
National Employer’s Hoken)
According to the survey
81
Insurance
(Shakai
The Japanese Journal of Population, Vol.4, No.1 (March 2006) of each.
C. Travel Insurance D. Others (
The first column in the upper panel
shows the determinants selected for health
)
insurance
2) Not covered (Circle all that are
coverage.
Among
Japanese
Brazilians, those aged 25-29 or 45+, those with
applicable) (M.A.) A. The employer refuses to cover.
two children, those who first arrived in 1991-92,
B. It is too costly.
those who first arrived to visit relatives, those
C. It is difficult to understand the
fluent in Japanese and those wishing to study Japanese are more likely to be covered by health
Japanese insurance system. D. I plan to return home soon.
insurance.
E. Others (
who never changed jobs or changed jobs once,
)
But those employed indirectly, those
those living in housing contracted by the The last two types of insurance (travel
employer and those uncertain about obtaining
insurance and others) are collapsed into one
Japanese nationality are less likely to be covered
category, “others” because of the low frequency
by health insurance.
Table 1
Determinants of Coverage, Type of Insurance (if covered) and Reason for Non-Coverage (if
not covered) Significant Independent Variables Positive Effects
Q21: Coverage Covered by Any Health Insurance Age: 25-29 Age: 45+ # of Kids: 2 First Arrival: 1991-92 Purpose of 1st Visit: Relatives Speak Japanese: Yes Wish to Study Japanese: Yes
Negative Effects
Type of Employment: Indirect Marital Status: Single Type of Employment: Indirect Contact with Japanese: # of Job Change: 0 # of Job Change: 1 Consulting Housing: Company Contract Apt Plan for Japanese Nationality: Undecided
Significant Independent Variables Positive Effects
Q21 (if not covered) Reason for Non-Coverage (M.A.): Refusal by Employer Too High Cost
Negative Effects
Marital Status: Single
(Source)
Q21(if covered): Insurance Type National Health Insurance Employers' Insurance Marital Status: Single First Arrival: 2003-04 Housing: Private Apt Housing: Public Japanese-Speaking Kid: Yes
First Arrival: 2001-02 Type of Employment: Indirect First Arrival: 1995-96 Daily Work Hours: 9-10 Kid's Schooling: Brazilian C Care Contact with Japanese: Consulting Contact with Japanese: None Info Source: Brazilian Paper Kid's Schooling: Brazilian Sch
Kid's Age: 0-2 Years in Iwata: 3 Type of Employment: Direct Community Assoc: Member Speak Japanese: Yes
Difficulty to Understand Insurance System Kid's Age: 15-17
Others Kid's Age: 15-17 Kid's Age: 18+ First Arrival: 1991-92 Daily Work Hours: 11+ Housing: Company Dorm/Apt
Living with: Kids
Plan to Return Soon Age: 40-44 Age at 1st Arrival: 15-19 Years in Iwata: 1 # of Job Change: 0 Info Source: Brazilian Paper Kid's Schooling: Brazilian Sch
Wish to Study Japanese: Yes Housing: Public Living with: Kids Speak Japanese: Yes Plan for Japanese Nationality: No
Microdata from the Iwata City Survey of Brazilians (2004).
82
The Japanese Journal of Population, Vol.4, No.1 (March 2006) The
As mentioned qualitatively in previous
fourth
column
presents
the
studies, indirect employment has a negative
determinants selected for coverage by other types
effect on health insurance coverage.
of
Japanese
insurance,
including
travel
insurance.
Brazilians who speak Japanese fluently seem to
Japanese Brazilians with children aged 15+,
be in a better position to negotiate with the
those who first arrived in 1991-92, those working
employer for coverage.
Those with two
for 11 hours or more per day, and those living in
children should have greater needs for health
company dormitory or apartment are more likely
insurance coverage to insure their children,
to be covered, while those living with children
particularly when they are small.
are less likely.
This seems to imply that older
When we look more closely at the factors
Japanese Brazilians who came to Japan alone are
affecting whether the respondent is covered by
more likely to be covered by other types of
each kind of health insurance in the following
insurance. The lower panel of Table 1 shows the
three columns in the upper panel, the following As for the determinants
results for reasons of non-coverage among
selected for coverage by the National Health
Japanese Brazilians who are not covered by any
Insurance (Kokumin Kenko Hoken) in the second
type of health insurance.
column, single Japanese Brazilians, those who
presents the determinants selected for refusal by
first arrived in 2003-2004, those living in a
the employer as a reason for non-coverage.
private apartment or public housing, and those
Japanese Brazilians employed indirectly, those
with Japanese-speaking children are more likely
working for 9-10 hours per day, and those
to be covered.
Those employed indirectly are
sending their children to a Brazilian childcare
less likely to be covered, which may be less
center are more likely to be not covered by health
readily understandable than if covered by the
insurance due to the refusal by the employer,
Employer’s Insurance (Shakai Hoken).
possibly because they have less negotiation
points become clearer.
Perhaps
The first column
it implies that those directly employed are more
power.
likely to be covered by the National Health
likely to be not covered for this reason, probably
Insurance even if they could not be covered by
because they are more likely to be covered by the
the Employer’s Insurance.
National Health Insurance as shown by the second column in the upper panel.
The third column shows the determinants selected
Employer’s
The second column in the lower panel
Japanese Brazilians with children
shows the determinants selected for high cost as
for
Insurance.
Single Japanese Brazilians are less
coverage
by
the
aged 0-2, those living in Iwata for 3 years, those
a reason for non-coverage.
employed
the
who first arrived in 1995-96 or 2001-2002, those
community association (Chonai-kai), and those
contacting Japanese for consultation or those
fluent in Japanese are more likely to be covered,
who have never contacted them, those for whom
while single Japanese Brazilians and those
Brazilian papers are their information source, and
contacting Japanese for consultation are less
those sending their children to a Brazilian school
likely.
As expected, those employed directly,
are more likely to be not covered by health
those fluent in Japanese and those with greater
insurance due to the high cost, possibly because
needs are more likely to be covered by the
they are more interested in saving money for
Employer’s Insurance.
their life in Brazil.
directly,
those
who
joined
83
Japanese Brazilians
Japanese Brazilians wishing
The Japanese Journal of Population, Vol.4, No.1 (March 2006) upper panel.
to study Japanese are less likely to be not covered for the cost reason, probably because
The last column presents the determinants
they are more likely to be covered by whatever
selected for plan to return soon as a reason for
health insurance as shown by the first column in
non-coverage.
the upper panel.
those who first arrived at ages 15-19, those living
Japanese Brazilians aged 40-44,
The third column presents the determinants
in Iwata for one year, those without job changes,
selected for difficulty to understand the Japanese
those for whom Brazilian papers are their
insurance system as a reason for non-coverage.
information source, and those sending their
Japanese Brazilians with children aged 15-17 are
children to a Brazilian school are more likely to
more likely to be not covered for this reason
be not covered for this reason possibly because
possibly because their children who have not
many of them are new-comers migrating to Japan
received Japanese education cannot help their
just to work for a short period.
parents
Japanese
Brazilians living with children are less likely to
Brazilians living in public housing, those fluent
be not covered for this reason possibly because
in Japanese, and those not planning to obtain
they are covered by the National Health
Japanese nationality are less likely to be not
Insurance or the Employer’s Insurance or they
covered for this reason probably because the first
are not covered for other reasons as shown by the
two groups are more likely to be covered by one
rest of Table 1.
understand
the
system.
Japanese
of the two major insurances as shown in the Table 2
Determinants of Medical Care Behaviors
Significant Independent Variables Positive Effects
Negative Effects
(Source)
Q22: Behavior in Case of Desease or Injury Go to Doctor Buy Medicine
Others
Age: 45+ Housing: Public
Years in Iwata: 0 Monthly Income:
