Around 10 percent of households of self-employed people with an annual income of at least 10 million yen have not paid premiums for the national pension system, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Friday.
The scheme covers self-employed people, farmers, fishermen and students, aged between 20 and 59, and is separate from the national pension scheme for company employees. About 22 million people are obliged to pay 13,300 yen in monthly premiums for the program.
The percentage of self-employed households failing to pay the pension premiums was 12.1 percent for those with an annual income of between 10 million yen and 12 million yen and 9.2 percent for those earning between 12 million yen and 15 million yen as of March 31, 2002.
The rate is 19 percent for such households with annual income of between 2 million yen and 3 million yen, followed by 17.7 percent for those with 3 million yen to 4 million yen and 17.4 percent for those with 1 million yen to 2 million yen, it said.