This chapter examines the targeting and coverage of these benefits and their incentive effects and role in the labour market. The chapter first considers the Employment Insurance (El) system, focusing mainly on the cash benefits provided.69 A distinctive characteristic is that contributions to the regular El system are not payable on earnings from some types of non-regular work, in particular until 2009 any work expected to last for less than a year. Japan provides the clearest OECD-country example of an unemployment insurance (UI) system that allows for the continuing existence of an uncovered sector, and its detailed provisions merit careful study by any other country that is considering the introduction of a UI system that may at first cover only workers in relatively stable and long-term employment -although Japan’s recent reforms aim to extend coverage to short-term employment. The chapter then examines the management of Public Assistance, with a focus on the entitlement features and management practices that keep the benefit caseload particularly low.