The abolition of insurance cards will also affect various licenses and permits!

From December 2024, 12, the previous insurance card will be abolished. (Transitional measures will be in place.)
This amendment will affect not only individual medical consultations, but also corporate licensing procedures.
In this topic, we will provide examples of two possible impacts based on our own research as of December 2024, 12.

1. Impact on "identification documents"

Under the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds, "specified business operators" are required to conduct identity verification at the time of transactions.
"Specified business operators" include banks and other such entities, as well as businesses that hold licenses and permits for financial instruments transactions, real estate specified joint ventures, money lending, and real estate transactions.
Therefore, business operators who hold these licenses and permits must be aware of the amendments that will affect transaction verification.

There are several methods of identity verification, and the detailed method of verification is specified for each document used for verification (identification document).
The health insurance card was also a form of identification.

However, with the health insurance cards being abolished, it is expected that changes will also be made to identity verification.
In fact, if you check the public comments on the Enforcement Regulations of the Criminal Proceeds Act (results announced on November 2024, 11), the planned revisions to identification documents are published.

Reference: e-Gov Public Comments
https://public-comment.e-gov.go.jp/pcm/1040?CLASSNAME=PCM1040&id=120240023&Mode=1

According to this public comment,

• Insurance cards, etc. (health insurance or national health insurance cards, etc.) will be removed from identity verification documents.
• As a transitional measure, it can continue to be used as identification for a certain period of time (※).

... apparently ...

*For health insurance cards, the validity period is up to one year. If the validity period expires before December 2025, 12, the validity period will be up to that date.

When the revised laws and regulations are actually published and implemented, there is a possibility that changes may occur from the time of announcement as a result of public comments, so it is necessary to keep up with the latest information.

2. Impact on "Documents Proving Full-Time Employment"

As a requirement for licensing, you may be required to appoint a full-time official.
When making a new application or submitting a change notification (such as the appointment or retirement of a senior official), you may be asked to provide supporting documentation that proves the senior official is a full-time employee.

For example, full-time engineers at a licensed construction business are required to show that they are full-time employees of the construction company by showing their health insurance certificate or other documents.

Since the health insurance card lists the name of the place of employment, it can sometimes be used as evidence that you are employed full-time.
This time, health insurance cards have been abolished and the use of My Number cards (known as "My Number health insurance cards") has begun in place of traditional health insurance cards.
On the other hand, since the name of the workplace is not listed on the My Number card, it cannot be used as evidence of full-time employment.

As a result, revisions are expected to be made to the documents required to prove full-time employment.

The documents that are actually required to be submitted will vary depending on the government office in charge, but the basic ideas and rules are set out in the "Construction Industry Licensing Administration Guidelines" published by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Reference: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Construction Industry Guidelines and Manuals
https://www.mlit.go.jp/totikensangyo/const/sosei_const_tk1_000002.html

The guidelines currently available were revised on December 2022, 12, and do not yet take into account the impact of the abolition of health insurance cards.
When we inquired with the relevant department of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, we were told that the policy is indeed expected to be revised in the future in light of the impact of the abolition of insurance cards.

When using your health insurance card as evidence of full-time employment, you need to check the latest operations, guidelines, and government manuals to properly understand which documents you need to submit.

Strengthen your compliance system with "One-stop regulation management"!

As such, depending on the type of license you hold, you will be affected by the cancellation of your insurance card.

In addition to this latest revision, various other regulatory changes have been taking place in recent years.
For business operators, it is essential to continue to respond to various regulations in a timely and appropriate manner while conducting business, but it can be a difficult task.
Furthermore, even when looking at each individual amendment, the impact is far-reaching.
(This time, the abolition of the insurance card will also affect licenses and permits.)

Our team of consultants with specialized knowledge and extensive experience will support you from identifying the regulations that your company needs to cover to building and implementing efficient business processes.
If you are interested, please take a look at the details of our services on the following page.