Japan Mulls Easing Nursing-Care Premiums for Missing Elderly People

From NHK

September 9 2026

TOKYO – The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has, for the first time, indicated that nursing-care insurance premiums can be fully exempted when elderly people, including those with dementia, go missing and their families continue to be responsible for paying the premiums. The ministry has notified local governments across Japan of this policy.

Regarding missing people with dementia and others, families are generally required to continue paying nursing-care insurance premiums until the person’s resident registration is removed, even after they have gone missing. There have also been differences in how local governments handle such cases, prompting family organizations to call for improvements.

Against this background, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has stated that nursing-care insurance premiums for missing elderly people may be reduced or exempted.

The ministry says that the premiums may be fully exempted, and suggests that supporting documentation for an exemption could include:

• A document proving that a missing-person report has been accepted by the police; and
• Documents showing that payments of public pension benefits have been suspended.

The ministry also states that if a person is legally presumed dead—for example, through a court declaration of disappearance—the local government has an obligation to refund to the family any nursing-care insurance premiums that were collected, including premiums paid retroactively.

This is the first time the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has issued a policy concerning the payment of nursing-care insurance premiums for elderly people who have gone missing. The ministry is asking local governments to take families’ financial burden into consideration and to examine how they handle nursing-care insurance premiums for missing people, using the ministry’s notification as a reference.

Family organization for people with dementia who have gone missing: “A really significant step”

Commenting on the ministry’s notification, Aiko Eto of Nagasaki City, who represents an organization made up of families of people with dementia who have gone missing, said:

“After my own father went missing, I personally felt that there was a contradiction in the fact that his public pension payments were stopped while we were still required to pay his nursing-care insurance premiums. I think the action taken this time is a really significant step forward, and there are definitely families who will be helped by it. Right now, I’m simply very happy.”

She also appealed to local governments across Japan, which will ultimately make decisions on individual cases:

“I hope they will understand this notification and, when families of missing people come to them with questions or requests, listen carefully to them and take steps to reduce or exempt them from nursing-care insurance premiums.”