Online Support
A certification result is legally due in 30 days, and MHLW’s FY2024 nationwide average from application to the second-stage decision was 39.9 days. Most of that wait is paperwork and phone calls inside Japanese business hours. We handle those online, and send someone in person anywhere in Japan when a step needs it.
Online consultations across time zonesMunicipal desks, clinics and care providers all work Japanese business hours, and almost nothing in the care system happens outside them. We make those calls while you sleep. The result reaches you in writing within two business days.
The municipal long-term care insurance desk and the community support center both operate on Japanese business hours. A question that takes five minutes can wait a week if nobody is awake to ask it. We ask on Japan's clock instead.
A parent who sounds fine at their best hour may be struggling at 7 p.m. The home-visit assessment is where those changes have to be described, and parents routinely understate them. We write the account of daily life that goes in front of the assessor.
The certification application, the home-visit assessment and the care manager meeting all run in Japanese. Few municipalities offer interpretation. We prepare each conversation in Japanese and report it back in English.
The municipal desk, the clinic and the care manager each hold one part of the file. Without a reachable contact in Japan, nobody puts them together. We keep one written record every party can be pointed at.
The first consultation is 30 minutes, free and held online. Most coordination is paperwork and phone calls, which need nobody in the room. These parts run fully remote.
The online consultation happens at a time that fits your zone, not Japan's afternoon. You come out of it with the next step named and, if you continue, a written scope and fee.
You get a written update after each step and a reply normally within two business days. Family meetings are scheduled into your evening rather than Japan's afternoon.
We call the municipal desk, the care manager and the clinic during Japanese business hours. The outcome is waiting in writing when you wake.
How It Actually Moves
Distance support is not a video call and good intentions. Four steps run between your first message and a working plan, and only the home-visit assessment needs someone physically in Japan.
The intake call is scheduled to fit where you live, not Japan's business day. You come out of it knowing which desk to call and what the parent's registered address means for the procedure.
One document in English and Japanese, covering health, daily life and the open decisions. The Japanese half is what the assessor and the doctor read. The English half is what the family approves against.
We call the municipal long-term care insurance desk and the community support center during Japanese business hours. The support center is free to consult and needs no referral. The work does not wait for your availability.
Updates arrive as documents you can read and answer in your own time. Live calls are reserved for decisions rather than status.
A bilingual situation summary the family and institutions can both use
Question lists prepared before each municipal or medical conversation
A written report after each coordination step, in English
An escalation plan naming who is called first and who holds keys
Tell us where the parent is registered and what prompted you to get in touch.
We say what runs online and which steps need someone in person.
If you continue, the scope and fee come in writing, then the bilingual summary and first actions with dates.
We cover all of Japan, in person as well as online. What changes from case to case is which steps need someone in the room.
Consultation, the bilingual summary and every question list happen online. Calls to the municipal desk and the care manager are made from Japan on your behalf. Reporting back is written and in English.
Being present at the home-visit assessment is the one step that genuinely needs someone local. Facility tours and accompanying appointments are the same. We arrange all three anywhere in Japan.
For a parent in a rural town we also work alongside the local care manager and the district community support center. About 5,487 of those centers cover the country, so every address has one.
The first consultation is 30 minutes and free. Support after that is billed as a package or by the hour, with a written estimate before any work starts. We take no referral fees from facilities or providers.
Yes. We cover all of Japan, online and in person. Planning, paperwork and English reporting run remotely. Assessments, facility visits and appointments are attended in person. In rural areas we usually also work alongside the local care manager.
The home-visit assessment is the main one, along with facility visits and accompanying appointments. Everything else around those moments is preparation and reporting, which travels. The certification application itself can be filed by the community support center when nobody is in Japan.
Meetings are scheduled into the family's evening rather than Japan's business day, and most updates arrive in writing so decisions can be discussed asynchronously. Questions are answered within two business days. Live calls are reserved for decisions rather than status updates.
Yes. The first consultation is 30 minutes and free, and it needs only the parent's registered address and a rough picture of the situation. From there we say what moves remotely and what needs local hands.
Usually. Hourly work done remotely tends to take fewer hours than a visit, and a package quote reflects the same difference. The estimate is in writing before any work starts.
These pages cover the situations online support is built around. The overseas guide sets out a 30-day action plan you can run from abroad.
The dedicated page for families coordinating a parent's care in Japan from overseas.
Caring for Parents in Japan from OverseasA 30-day action plan for building structure around a parent in Japan, all from abroad.
How It WorksThe steps from first consultation to ongoing support, and what happens at each.
ServicesThe full list of coordination services, from care navigation to facility search.
Areas We CoverLocal guides for four cities in Tokyo and Kanagawa, and how we cover the rest of Japan.
