Will the money arrive automatically once I leave my job?

No. You have to take the 離職票 to Hello Work, register as a jobseeker, have your eligibility decided, and then attend on each verification day you are given. Nothing is paid if you do not go through this.

What is 離職票 called in English?

MHLW's English materials use "employment insurance separation letter", with the two sheets called "separation letter − 1" and "separation letter − 2"; the English brochure also writes "Job Separation Notice (Rishokuhyo)". Staff at the counter will know it as 離職票, so showing the document itself is the surest way to be understood.

The stated reason for leaving is wrong. Can anything be done?

Yes. Hello Work does not simply register whatever the company wrote — it decides the reason after hearing you too. Raise it when you submit the sheets. It matters, because the reason affects when payment starts and how many days you get.

My company will not give me the separation letter.

Ask the employer first. If it still does not come, Hello Work will take it up: the ministry's English checklist for foreign nationals tells you to ask at Hello Work in exactly this situation.

Insurance / Pension

Separation Letter in Japan (離職票 rishokuhyo): What It Is and How to Get It

離職票 (rishokuhyo) is the document that proves you left your job and what you were paid. Its full name is 雇用保険被保険者離職票 and it comes in two sheets, −1 and −2. It reaches you through your former employer, who files with Hello Work first. You need both sheets to claim unemployment benefit (基本手当, "basic allowance"): you hand them in at Hello Work when you register as a jobseeker. Sheet −1 carries your employment insurance number and a space for your bank account; sheet −2 shows the wages you were paid and the reason for leaving that your company declared. MHLW's own English materials call this the "employment insurance separation letter" ("separation letter − 1" and "separation letter − 2"), and the English brochure writes it as "Job Separation Notice (Rishokuhyo)". Leaving a job does not start any payment by itself — these two sheets are what starts it.

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Who receives it

Anyone who was enrolled in employment insurance and has left that job, whatever their nationality. It comes through the former employer. If you were not enrolled — for example if your contracted hours were under 20 a week — no 離職票 is issued. It is issued whether you resigned, were laid off, reached the end of a contract or retired, as long as you were insured.

What to do

1Check that you have both sheets, −1 and −2. If only one arrived, ask your former employer for the other.
2Read the reason for leaving written on sheet −2. If what the company wrote does not match what happened, say so when you hand the sheets in — Hello Work hears your side before deciding, and the reason affects when and how long you are paid.
3Take a copy before you hand them in. The sheets are not returned, and you may need them again for National Health Insurance or to join a family member's insurance.
4Go to the Hello Work office for the area you live in, register as a jobseeker and submit the sheets. Bring identity documents, something showing your My Number, a bank passbook or cash card in your own name, and photographs — the photographs can be skipped if you show your My Number Card.
5If more than about two weeks have passed and nothing has arrived, ask your former employer first. If it still does not come, ask Hello Work: MHLW's English checklist says plainly to ask at Hello Work if the company will not provide a separation letter.

About the deadline

No date is printed on the sheets themselves, but the period in which basic allowance can be paid is, in principle, one year from the day after you left the job. Once that year is over, any remaining days of entitlement are simply lost, so the longer you wait the fewer days you actually receive. Go to Hello Work as soon as both sheets are in hand. Note also that the first seven days of unemployment after you register are a "waiting period" with no payment, and that depending on the reason for leaving there may be a further restricted period after it. The length of that restriction has been changed by law more than once, so confirm your own case at Hello Work rather than relying on an older figure you read elsewhere.

Common misunderstandings

Will the money arrive automatically once I leave my job?: No. You have to take the 離職票 to Hello Work, register as a jobseeker, have your eligibility decided, and then attend on each verification day you are given. Nothing is paid if you do not go through this.
What is 離職票 called in English?: MHLW's English materials use "employment insurance separation letter", with the two sheets called "separation letter − 1" and "separation letter − 2"; the English brochure also writes "Job Separation Notice (Rishokuhyo)". Staff at the counter will know it as 離職票, so showing the document itself is the surest way to be understood.
The stated reason for leaving is wrong. Can anything be done?: Yes. Hello Work does not simply register whatever the company wrote — it decides the reason after hearing you too. Raise it when you submit the sheets. It matters, because the reason affects when payment starts and how many days you get.
My company will not give me the separation letter.: Ask the employer first. If it still does not come, Hello Work will take it up: the ministry's English checklist for foreign nationals tells you to ask at Hello Work in exactly this situation.

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Sources

This page is general information. For your own case, confirm with the office that issued the document, or with a qualified professional.