Responding to our April 19 column ("Japan pension answers often case-specific"), KW suggests that there are further conditions — aside from the special exemptions we mentioned — under which foreigners may be able to receive a pension without paying in for 25 years.
One option he mentions is kara kikan. The "empty time" referred to here would be a period working and living outside Japan during which an individual did not pay into the Japanese state pension fund. Under kara kikan, that person could count these "gap years" towards the required 25 years needed to start drawing their pension.
When we spoke with the pension office about reader JM's case for the April 19 article, they did not mention kara kikan as an option, so we called again to ask about it and when it might apply. Their official answer: Kara kikan no longer exists, except for Japanese citizens and permanent residents in very specific cases.