In October 2026, two rules that shape how part-timers and casual workers work change at the same time. One is the raise of the minimum wage (national weighted average ¥1,177, highest in Tokyo at ¥1,280; the new amounts take effect prefecture by prefecture from October 1 to December 2, and the full table is in this article). The other is the abolition of the "¥1.06 million wall" (in effect since October 1). Hourly pay is rising, yet the dividing line for social insurance has shifted from "income" to "weekly working hours." Check your own case with the simulator where you just enter your hourly wage and weekly hours.
・The minimum wage is currently still a national weighted average of ¥1,121 (the highest is Tokyo at ¥1,226; even the lowest is ¥1,023). For FY2026, recommendations from all 47 prefectures are in, for a weighted average of ¥1,177 (+¥56); the highest is Tokyo at ¥1,280. The new amounts take effect successively from October 1 to December 2, so until the effective date your pay stays at the current wage
・On October 1, the ¥1.06 million wall (the wage requirement of ¥88,000 a month) was abolished. At companies with 51 or more employees, "20 hours a week" becomes the dividing line for social insurance
・The ¥1.30 million wall (dependent status) remains. The more your hourly wage rises, the shorter the hours needed to reach the same annual income — thinking in terms of "how many hours a week you work" rather than "annual income" is the new common sense from October
Change ①: The minimum wage rises in stages from October
Every year, around July the national council (the Central Minimum Wage Council) recommends a "benchmark" for the raise, and after deliberation in each prefecture, the new amounts take effect around October. Here is the current situation[MHLW Central Minimum Wage Council (in Japanese)].
| Current (FY2025) national weighted average | ¥1,121 (a rise of ¥66 from the previous year — the largest ever) |
| Current highest and lowest | Highest: Tokyo ¥1,226 / Lowest: Kochi, Miyazaki, and Okinawa ¥1,023 |
| FY2026 recommendations (all 47 finalized on September 3) | National weighted average ¥1,177 (up ¥56 from the previous year). 33 prefectures exceeded the national benchmark, with the largest raise in Saga at +¥65. The highest amount is Tokyo at ¥1,280. The new amounts take effect successively from October 1 to December 2; for pay periods that straddle the effective date, wages are calculated day by day at the old and new rates. See the confirmed amounts and effective dates by prefecture |
The key point is that everywhere in the country the minimum wage already exceeds ¥1,000. This connects directly to the next topic, the "abolition of the ¥1.06 million wall."
Minimum Wage and Effective Dates by Prefecture, FY2026 (Final Recommendations)
On September 3, 2026, the recommendations from all 47 prefectural minimum wage councils were completed, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare published the national list[MHLW (in Japanese)]. The raises range from ¥54 to ¥65.
How to read this table: Effective dates differ by prefecture, successively from October 1 to December 2. Until the effective date, the current (FY2025) minimum wage applies. The recommended amounts are not officially final until each prefectural labour bureau director confirms them after the objection procedure, but in most years they are confirmed as recommended.
| Prefecture | Rank | Current (FY2025) | Revised amount | Raise | Effective date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido | B | ¥1,075 | ¥1,131 | +¥56 | Oct 1 |
| Aomori | C | ¥1,029 | ¥1,090 | +¥61 (benchmark +¥5) | Oct 29 |
| Iwate | C | ¥1,031 | ¥1,090 | +¥59 (benchmark +¥3) | Dec 1 |
| Miyagi | B | ¥1,038 | ¥1,098 | +¥60 (benchmark +¥4) | Oct 1 |
| Akita | C | ¥1,031 | ¥1,090 | +¥59 (benchmark +¥3) | Oct 14 |
| Yamagata | C | ¥1,032 | ¥1,092 | +¥60 (benchmark +¥4) | Oct 30 |
| Fukushima | B | ¥1,033 | ¥1,094 | +¥61 (benchmark +¥5) | Oct 16 |
| Ibaraki | B | ¥1,074 | ¥1,136 | +¥62 (benchmark +¥6) | Oct 18 |
| Tochigi | B | ¥1,068 | ¥1,125 | +¥57 (benchmark +¥1) | Oct 1 |
| Gunma | B | ¥1,063 | ¥1,120 | +¥57 (benchmark +¥1) | Oct 3 |
| Saitama | A | ¥1,141 | ¥1,196 | +¥55 (benchmark +¥1) | Oct 1 |
| Chiba | A | ¥1,140 | ¥1,195 | +¥55 (benchmark +¥1) | Oct 1 |
| Tokyo | A | ¥1,226 | ¥1,280 | +¥54 | Oct 1 |
| Kanagawa | A | ¥1,225 | ¥1,279 | +¥54 | Oct 1 |
| Niigata | B | ¥1,050 | ¥1,108 | +¥58 (benchmark +¥2) | Oct 1 |
| Toyama | B | ¥1,062 | ¥1,119 | +¥57 (benchmark +¥1) | Oct 1 |
| Ishikawa | B | ¥1,054 | ¥1,113 | +¥59 (benchmark +¥3) | Oct 3 |
| Fukui | B | ¥1,053 | ¥1,112 | +¥59 (benchmark +¥3) | Oct 4 |
| Yamanashi | B | ¥1,052 | ¥1,113 | +¥61 (benchmark +¥5) | Nov 1 |
| Nagano | B | ¥1,061 | ¥1,117 | +¥56 | Oct 2 |
| Gifu | B | ¥1,065 | ¥1,121 | +¥56 | Oct 1 |
| Shizuoka | B | ¥1,097 | ¥1,154 | +¥57 (benchmark +¥1) | Oct 15 |
| Aichi | A | ¥1,140 | ¥1,195 | +¥55 (benchmark +¥1) | Oct 1 |
| Mie | B | ¥1,087 | ¥1,143 | +¥56 | Oct 1 |
| Shiga | B | ¥1,080 | ¥1,136 | +¥56 | Oct 3 |
| Kyoto | B | ¥1,122 | ¥1,180 | +¥58 (benchmark +¥2) | Nov 16 |
| Osaka | A | ¥1,177 | ¥1,231 | +¥54 | Oct 1 |
| Hyogo | B | ¥1,116 | ¥1,172 | +¥56 | Oct 1 |
| Nara | B | ¥1,051 | ¥1,107 | +¥56 | Oct 4 |
| Wakayama | B | ¥1,045 | ¥1,101 | +¥56 | Oct 3 |
| Tottori | C | ¥1,030 | ¥1,090 | +¥60 (benchmark +¥4) | Oct 3 |
| Shimane | B | ¥1,033 | ¥1,092 | +¥59 (benchmark +¥3) | Oct 10 |
| Okayama | B | ¥1,047 | ¥1,104 | +¥57 (benchmark +¥1) | Oct 2 |
| Hiroshima | B | ¥1,085 | ¥1,141 | +¥56 | Oct 11 |
| Yamaguchi | B | ¥1,043 | ¥1,101 | +¥58 (benchmark +¥2) | Oct 8 |
| Tokushima | B | ¥1,046 | ¥1,103 | +¥57 (benchmark +¥1) | Nov 1 |
| Kagawa | B | ¥1,036 | ¥1,092 | +¥56 | Oct 1 |
| Ehime | B | ¥1,033 | ¥1,093 | +¥60 (benchmark +¥4) | Nov 1 |
| Kochi | C | ¥1,023 | ¥1,086 | +¥63 (benchmark +¥7) | Oct 29 |
| Fukuoka | B | ¥1,057 | ¥1,114 | +¥57 (benchmark +¥1) | Oct 4 |
| Saga | C | ¥1,030 | ¥1,095 | +¥65 (benchmark +¥9) | Nov 15 |
| Nagasaki | C | ¥1,031 | ¥1,087 | +¥56 | Nov 2 |
| Kumamoto | C | ¥1,034 | ¥1,092 | +¥58 (benchmark +¥2) | Dec 1 |
| Oita | C | ¥1,035 | ¥1,096 | +¥61 (benchmark +¥5) | Nov 1 |
| Miyazaki | C | ¥1,023 | ¥1,085 | +¥62 (benchmark +¥6) | Oct 24 |
| Kagoshima | C | ¥1,026 | ¥1,090 | +¥64 (benchmark +¥8) | Oct 25 |
| Okinawa | C | ¥1,023 | ¥1,086 | +¥63 (benchmark +¥7) | Dec 2 |
Sources: MHLW, "Revised regional minimum wages recommended in all prefectures" (September 3, 2026, in Japanese) and the annex "FY2026 Regional Minimum Wage Recommendations" (PDF, in Japanese). Effective dates may change depending on objections filed after the recommendations are published.
Change ②: The ¥1.06 million wall disappears, replaced by the "20-hours-a-week wall" (October 1, confirmed)
Among the conditions for a part-timer to join their workplace's social insurance (employees' pension and health insurance), the requirement of "monthly wages of ¥88,000 or more (about ¥1.06 million a year)" was abolished on October 1, 2026. There are now only the following four conditions for enrollment[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (in Japanese)].
- Prescribed weekly working hours of 20 hours or more
- An expected period of employment exceeding two months
- Not a student (daytime students do not join their workplace's social insurance even at 20 hours a week or more; however, the income threshold for staying a parent's dependent — ¥1.5 million for those aged 19 to under 23 — remains as a separate rule)
- A company with 51 or more employees (this requirement, too, is scheduled to be phased out from October 2027)
In other words, from October it is decided by "whether you work 20 hours a week or more," regardless of how much you earn. The detailed background of the system is explained in The ¥1.06 million and ¥1.30 million walls.
If you work exactly 20 hours a week, monthly income is "hourly wage × about 87 hours." You reach ¥88,000 a month when the hourly wage is ¥1,016 or more. Now the minimum wage is ¥1,023 even at the national lowest — so if you work 20 hours a week, in every prefecture you automatically exceed ¥88,000 a month, and the wage requirement had effectively lost its meaning. The abolition, which had been described as "to be carried out in light of the minimum-wage situation," came this year because this arithmetic now holds nationwide.
Which pattern are you? The four categories from October
| Size of your workplace | 20 hours a week or more | Under 20 hours a week |
|---|---|---|
| 51 or more employees | Enroll in social insurance (regardless of annual income; students excluded) | No enrollment. Dependent status is judged by the ¥1.30 million wall |
| 50 or fewer employees | No enrollment for now※. Dependent status is judged by the ¥1.30 million wall | No enrollment. Dependent status is judged by the ¥1.30 million wall |
※Companies with 50 or fewer employees will also be phased into coverage from October 2027, and all companies are scheduled to be covered by 2035. There is also voluntary application by labor-management agreement (a voluntarily designated applicable establishment).
And what is easy to overlook is that the rise in hourly wages shortens the distance to the ¥1.30 million wall. The weekly working hours that reach ¥1.30 million a year are "¥1.30 million ÷ 52 weeks ÷ hourly wage." At ¥1,023 an hour it is 24.4 hours a week, but at Tokyo's ¥1,226 it is 20.4 hours a week — in urban areas the "¥1.30 million wall" and the "20-hours-a-week wall" line up in almost the same place.
¥1,023/hour → 24.4 hours a week / ¥1,121/hour → 22.3 hours a week / ¥1,226/hour → 20.4 hours a week
The higher the hourly wage, the shorter the hours you can stay "within dependent status." If you keep the same shifts as last year, a wage revision could push you over ¥1.30 million without noticing.
[Simulator] Just enter your hourly wage and weekly hours: you, from October
Enter your hourly wage, weekly working hours, and the size of your workplace, and it estimates your social insurance treatment from October onward and a guide to your annual income and take-home pay. Once the October wage revision is decided, enter the new hourly wage and check again.
※Annual income = a rough estimate of hourly wage × weekly hours × 52 weeks (excluding bonuses and commuting allowance). Social insurance premiums are estimated as about 15% of pay for the employee's own share. The actual judgment depends on your prescribed working hours and contract terms. You can also estimate in more detail with the Dependent-status wall simulator.
How to think so you don't lose out on take-home pay
- If you are hesitating just short of 20 hours a week: joining social insurance temporarily lowers your take-home pay through premiums (about 15% of pay), but the employees' pension increases your future pension, and you also gain injury-and-sickness allowance and maternity allowance. Premiums are split evenly with the company.
- The crossover line is around ¥1.5–1.6 million of annual income: rather than holding back halfway, if you work up to there your take-home pay exceeds what it was before enrolling. At ¥1,121 an hour, that is around 26 hours a week.
- Stop "building your shifts around annual income": from October the dividing line is hours. The conventional adjustment of hastily cutting shifts at year-end loses its meaning at companies with 51 or more employees.
- If you want to stay within dependent status at a company with 50 or fewer employees: after a wage revision, recalculate your weekly maximum hours with "¥1.30 million ÷ 52 ÷ new hourly wage." From April 2026 the judgment is based on the labor contract, so consulting your workplace about revising your contracted hours is the quickest route (Conditions for health-insurance dependent status).
- A program that lets the company's burden soften your "drop in take-home pay" starts at the same time: from October 1, 2026, the "premium adjustment program" begins. For short-time workers with a standard monthly remuneration of ¥126,000 or less who newly join social insurance at a workplace with 50 or fewer employees, the company can additionally bear part of the employee's share of premiums, softening the sudden drop in take-home pay for up to 3 years. The company's additional burden is fully supported by the program[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (in Japanese)]. Whether it is used is up to your workplace, so if you are likely to qualify, this is a program workers may well ask their company about themselves. (for who qualifies and how to ask, see our guide to the premium adjustment program).
Summary
- The fiscal 2026 minimum wage is a nationwide weighted average of ¥1,177 (+¥56), with Tokyo highest at ¥1,280. It takes effect prefecture by prefecture between October 1 and December 2.
- On October 1, the ¥1.06 million wall (the ¥88,000-a-month wage requirement) is abolished. At workplaces with 51 or more employees, whether someone works 20 hours or more a week determines social insurance enrollment.
- The ¥1.3 million dependent wall remains. The higher the hourly wage, the fewer weekly hours it takes to reach ¥1.3 million (at ¥1,226 an hour, that's 20.4 hours a week).
- For those who do enroll in social insurance, working up to an annual income of ¥1.5-¥1.6 million brings take-home pay back above pre-enrollment levels.
- Those at workplaces with 50 or fewer employees who want to stay within the dependent threshold should recalculate their weekly hour limit as "¥1.3 million ÷ 52 ÷ new hourly wage."
Sources: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — Central Minimum Wage Council (in Japanese) / Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — On expanding who is covered by social insurance (in Japanese) / Japan Pension Service — Expansion of application to short-time workers (in Japanese) / MHLW, "FY2026 Benchmarks for Revising Regional Minimum Wages" (in Japanese) / MHLW, "Revised regional minimum wages recommended in all prefectures" (September 3, 2026, in Japanese) and the annex "FY2026 Regional Minimum Wage Recommendations" (PDF, in Japanese) (as of September 5, 2026). The recommended amounts are confirmed by each prefectural labour bureau director after the objection procedure. This article is general information; for individual judgments, please confirm with your workplace, a pension office, or a professional.
