[Latest as of January 2026] How to receive unemployment insurance for 2 years and 6 months | A complete guide to the procedures you should know before resigning due to poor health
"I'm not feeling well and it's hard to keep working... but what will I do for living expenses if I quit?" "I heard that unemployment insurance only lasts for 3 months, but that's not enough to focus on treatment."
"I saw online that there's a way to get it for 2 years and 6 months, but is that true? Isn't it suspicious?"
Many people probably have these questions, don't they?
I myself have experience researching the system in detail.
In this article, I will thoroughly explain the correct procedures to receive unemployment insurance for up to 2 years and 6 months based on the latest system as of January 2026.
I have covered everything from what you need to do before resigning, the specific steps for application, to the points you need to be careful about.
✅ The mechanism of 2 years and 6 months of unemployment insurance | Combining injury and sickness allowance with unemployment benefits
Receiving unemployment insurance for 2 years and 6 months (30 months) is legally possible if you follow the correct procedures.
This is achieved by combining two systems.
[Breakdown of the two systems]
☑ Health Insurance Injury and Sickness Allowance (up to 18 months)
1.Receive approximately 65% of your salary from the 12 months before resignation
2. Condition is that you cannot work due to illness or injury
3. If your monthly salary is 300,000 yen: You can receive approximately 3.5 million yen
☑ Employment Insurance Unemployment Benefits (up to 10-12 months)
1.Receive approximately 60% of your salary from the 6 months before resignation
2. Extended from the usual 3 months to 10-12 months by being certified as a person having difficulty finding employment
3. If your monthly salary is 300,000 yen: You can receive approximately 1.8 million yen
☑ Flow of receipt
1.First, receive the injury and sickness allowance for up to 18 months (illness treatment period)
2. Once the illness is cured, receive unemployment benefits for 10-12 months (job hunting period)
3. You can receive benefits for a total of up to 30 months
Important note: You cannot receive the injury and sickness allowance and unemployment benefits at the same time. You must receive them in order.
✅ Conditions for those who can receive it | Social insurance enrollment is mandatory
As of January 2026, to receive the injury and sickness allowance and unemployment benefits in combination, you must meet all of the following conditions.
[Absolute conditions]
① Must have been enrolled in social insurance (health insurance) for 1 consecutive year or more
・National Health Insurance is not eligible
・Must have been enrolled for 1 year or more without interruption
・Part-time/contract employees are eligible if they are enrolled in social insurance
② A doctor must certify that you have "difficulty working"
・Autonomic ataxia, depression, adjustment disorder, etc.
・Physical illnesses and injuries are also eligible
・A doctor's medical certificate is required
③ Perform the correct procedures before resigning
・Take 3 or more consecutive days off while still employed
・Visit a hospital on the first day of your leave
・Do not work on your resignation date (take it as an absence or paid leave)
[Common misconceptions]
❌ You can get it even with National Health Insurance → Only Health Insurance (social insurance) is eligible
❌ It's fine to go to the hospital after resigning → Visiting while still employed is mandatory
❌ Anyone can get it → A doctor's diagnosis is required
✅ 3 things you must do before resigning | Start procedures 1 month in advance
To receive unemployment insurance for 2 years and 6 months, preparation before resigning is the most important thing. There are procedures that will be too late to do after you resign.
STEP 1: Submit your resignation letter (1-2 months before resignation)
Inform the company of your intention to resign and decide on your resignation date.
Be sure to inform them with plenty of time, 1-2 months in advance.
STEP 2: Take 3 or more consecutive days off while employed (mandatory condition)
As a condition for receiving the injury and sickness allowance, you need to take 3 or more consecutive days off while still employed.
OK examples (taking 3 or more consecutive days off)
・Paid leave on Friday → Weekend off = 3 consecutive days off
・Paid leave on Monday → Weekend off = 3 consecutive days off
・Taking time off during long holidays like Golden Week
・Paid leave on Thursday/Friday → Weekend off = 4 consecutive days off
NG examples (not consecutive)
・Off Wednesday/Thursday → Work Friday → Weekend off
・Only taking 2 consecutive days off
There is no problem with using your paid leave. You do not need to be absent without notice; in fact, I recommend using up your paid leave.
STEP 3: Visit a hospital on the first day of your 3-day weekend (Extremely Important)
The first day of your consecutive leave must be the day you visit a hospital and receive a doctor's examination.
Recommended hospitals
・Psychosomatic medicine
・Psychiatry
・Mental clinic
Since appointments may be several days away, make your reservation as early as possible.
[What to tell the doctor]
・Speak honestly about your current physical and mental condition/symptoms
・State that your mental and physical state makes it difficult to work at the company
・State that you need a medical certificate to take leave from work
Important Note: Have it diagnosed as an "illness/injury" rather than a work-related injury Even if workplace stress is the cause, if you receive workers' compensation certification, you will not be able to receive the injury and sickness allowance.
Since workers' compensation certification is extremely difficult to obtain, it is more certain to have it diagnosed as an "illness/injury."
Many doctors understand this situation and will handle it appropriately.
If you do not receive a diagnosis of being unfit for work, consider getting a second opinion at another hospital.
STEP 4: Do not go to work on your resignation date (Most Important)
If you go to work on your resignation date, you will not be able to receive the injury and sickness allowance.
・Make your resignation date an absence or a paid leave day
・Finish organizing your belongings and handing over tasks before your resignation date
・If your resignation date falls on a weekend or holiday, it is automatically treated as a day off
If you do not meet this condition, you will be judged as someone who "was able to work until the resignation date" and will be ineligible for benefits.
✅ Application Procedure for Injury and Sickness Allowance | Detailed Steps After Resignation
After resigning, you will begin the procedures to actually receive the injury and sickness allowance.
STEP 1: Switch your health insurance (within 2 weeks after resignation)
Since you will be removed from the company's health insurance upon resignation, you must switch to one of the following:
Enroll in National Health Insurance
・Complete procedures at your municipal office window
Voluntary Continuation (Continue the company's health insurance)
・Must complete procedures within 20 days after resignation
・Insurance premiums will be fully self-funded
Which one is cheaper depends on the individual, so please check at your municipal office window.
If you are unsure, switching to National Health Insurance is the safer option.
Apply for pension exemption at the same time There is a special exemption system for the National Pension due to resignation.
Consult with the pension window at your municipal office.
STEP 2: Obtain the application form for the injury and sickness allowance
Obtain the application form from the health insurance association you were enrolled in while employed.
If you are enrolled in Kyokai Kenpo, which most people are
・Can be downloaded from the internet
・Obtain it from the official Kyokai Kenpo website
If you are in another health insurance association
・Inquire with the health insurance association listed on your insurance card
・Search for it by looking up "Health Insurance Association Association Search"
The application form has three sections to fill out:
1. Section for you to fill out
2. Section for your workplace (company) to fill out
3. Section for the doctor to fill out
STEP 3: Ask the doctor to fill out the form during your second visit
Visit the hospital again within about a week after your resignation.
[What to tell your doctor]
・That your symptoms are persisting
・That you would like to apply for the Injury and Sickness Allowance, so please fill out the application form
Submit the doctor's section of the application form and have it filled out.
Make sure to schedule your next appointment (aim for one month later).
Monthly hospital visits are required while receiving the Injury and Sickness Allowance.
STEP 4: Request the company to fill out the application form
Have the company fill out the "Employer's Section" of the application form.
Requesting by mail is recommended
・Enclose a return envelope and stamps
・The name of the illness will not be disclosed to the company
・Mailing is convenient if you do not want to meet in person
Once returned by the company, your documents will be complete.
STEP 5: Submit the application form to the Health Insurance Association
Mail the application form, with all three sections filled out, to the Health Insurance Association.
In the case of Kyokai Kenpo: Send a total of 4 documents together. You will receive a payment decision notice or a non-payment decision notice approximately one month after application.
STEP 6: Continue monthly hospital visits and applications
Once you start receiving the Injury and Sickness Allowance, continue the following:
Monthly hospital visits
・To prove the continuity of treatment
Monthly submission of application forms
・Only your section and the doctor's section are needed
・Company input is only required for the first time
Payments will continue until you recover or reach the 18-month maximum.
✅ Unemployment Benefit Receipt Procedure | Procedures after recovery
Once you have recovered and are able to work, either during or after receiving the Injury and Sickness Allowance, proceed to the unemployment benefit procedures.
Important: Be sure to apply for an extension of the benefit period (30 days or more after resignation)
Normally, the right to unemployment benefits expires if not claimed within one year of resignation.
However, since this period will pass while you are receiving the Injury and Sickness Allowance,applying for an extension of the benefit periodis mandatory.
[How to apply]
・Go to Hello Work 30 days or more after the day following your resignation
・State that you "wish to apply for an extension of the benefit period due to medical treatment"
・It is safer to confirm the necessary documents by phone in advance
If you forget this procedure, you will not be able to receive unemployment benefits even if you receive the Injury and Sickness Allowance.
Once you recover: Obtain a Certificate of Ability to Work
Once your doctor determines that you are in a condition to work, have the hospital issue the following certificates:
Injury and Sickness Certificate
・Proof that you were receiving the Injury and Sickness Allowance
Certificate of Ability to Work
・Proof that you are currently in a condition to work
Take these two certificates to Hello Work.
✅ Procedure to cancel the extension of the benefit period at Hello Work
Perform the following at Hello Work:
Cancellation of the application for extension of the benefit period
State that you wish to apply for unemployment benefits as a "person with difficulty finding employment"
Super Important: Be sure to state that you are a "person with difficulty finding employment" If you qualify as a person with difficulty finding employment, your unemployment benefit period will change as follows:
Standard: 90 days (approx. 3 months)
Person with difficulty finding employment: 300–360 days (10–12 months)
If you forget to make this declaration, you will only receive 3 months' worth.
☑ Start job hunting
To receive unemployment benefits, you must visit Hello Work once a month and report your job-hunting activities.
Also utilize the application for reduction or exemption
・Application for reduction or exemption of National Health Insurance (at municipal offices)
・You may be able to have your insurance premiums reduced while unemployed
If you find a new job: Utilize the Re-employment Allowance
If you find a job while you still have days remaining in your unemployment benefit period, you may be eligible for the Re-employment Allowance.
Depending on the number of remaining benefit days, approximately 60% of the total benefit amount will be paid as a lump sum.
✅ Important points and things you lose out on if you don't know
☑ Public servants are not eligible for unemployment benefits
Because public servants are not enrolled in employment insurance, they cannot receive unemployment benefits.
However, they are eligible for injury and sickness benefits.
☑ You only need to ask your company to fill out the application form once
When applying for injury and sickness benefits each month, you only need to have your company fill it out the first time.
From the second time onwards, you can apply using only the sections for yourself and your doctor.
☑ If you recover from an illness and it recurs
Treatment varies depending on the health insurance association, but in the case of Japan Health Insurance Association (Kyokai Kenpo), once you are able to work, the receipt of injury and sickness benefits ends. Since you cannot receive them again even if it recurs, it is important to consult with your doctor thoroughly and obtain a diagnosis that you are fit to work only after you have fully recovered.
You can further extend the benefit period through vocational training
Even after you have finished receiving unemployment benefits, you can extend your benefit period by attending a vocational training school.
Training period: 3 months to about 2 years
Content: Computer skills, acquiring certifications, etc.
Benefits continue during the training period
You can also apply for a deferment of scholarship repayment
If your income decreases after resigning, you can also apply for a deferment of scholarship repayment (repayment deadline deferment).
If this applies to you, contact the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO).
✅ Things you can do starting today | Prepare before you worry about poor health
Here is a summary of what you can do right now to receive unemployment insurance for 2 years and 6 months.
☑ Things you can do right now
Check your health insurance card: Confirm if you have been enrolled in social insurance for at least one year and identify your health insurance association
Research psychosomatic medicine and mental health clinics: Look for clinics that are easy to book and prepare to visit one immediately if needed
Bookmark or save this article: So you can refer back to it when you actually go through the procedures
If you feel unwell, don't endure it—go to the hospital: Dealing with it before you completely break down is most important; early response is the shortcut to recovery
☑ Things to do immediately after deciding to resign
Submit your resignation letter 1-2 months before your resignation date
Create a schedule where you are off for 3 consecutive days (e.g., Friday + Saturday/Sunday)
Visit a hospital on the first day of your 3-day break
Do not go to work on your resignation date
✅ Summary | Understanding the system correctly leads to peace of mind
Receiving unemployment insurance for 2 years and 6 months is legally possible if you follow the correct procedures.
Key Points
Injury and Sickness Allowance (up to 18 months) + Unemployment Benefits (up to 10-12 months) = up to 30 months
Preparation before resignation is most important (take 3 consecutive days off while employed, visit a doctor on the first day, and be absent on the resignation date)
Do not forget to apply for an extension of the benefit period
Be sure to inform Hello Work that you are a person with difficulty finding employment
This system is a social security measure designed to allow those whose health has deteriorated to focus on treatment with peace of mind. It is a legitimate right you have earned by paying insurance premiums yourself, so please do not hesitate to use it when necessary.
It takes many times longer to recover once you have completely broken down. I recommend visiting a hospital as soon as you feel like things might be getting difficult.
👉 [True Story] The "3 Questions" that changed the life of a former teacher who saved 40 million yen in 6 years