Seeing a Doctor in Japan on a Long Stay

Who pays

A temporary visitor cannot join Japan's public health insurance, so a visit to a doctor is paid for by the visitor, on the day, at a price the facility sets. The national rule that defines who enrolls, Article 1 of the Enforcement Rule of the National Health Insurance Act, leaves out foreign nationals who are not registered foreign residents, and a short stay does not make a visitor one. A manual for hospitals published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) says the same thing in plain terms: visitors are outside public insurance, so the charge is a self-pay price set by each institution.

That sentence explains most of what surprises older visitors. There is no insurance card to show, no standard tariff to look up, and no fixed copayment. The same blood test can cost different amounts at two clinics on the same street. The MHLW manual recommends that hospitals give an estimate before treating, so asking "How much will this visit cost, roughly?" at the desk is a normal request, not a rude one.

One rule limits some hospitals. Social medical corporations and a few similar non-profit operators keep their special status only if their fees stay within set limits. MHLW notices dated 31 March 2026 relaxed that limit for foreign patients without public insurance, from 1 April 2026. If such a hospital sets a separate price for these patients, the price must sit between the standard insured price and three times that price, must not exceed the usual local rate, and is checked by the authorities. An item that costs 10,000 yen at the insured rate could therefore be billed at up to 30,000 yen there, and at less where the local rate is lower. The notice says other hospital corporations may charge the costs they need regardless of it. The kind of operator is rarely printed on the door, so the estimate is your practical safeguard.

This guide covers planned care during a stay of one to three months, such as a blood pressure check, a diabetes review, a skin problem, or a repeat prescription. For a sudden illness, see our guide to an elderly parent who falls sick while visiting Japan. For what a travel insurance policy should say before you leave, see the checklist in one month in Japan for older travelers. Neither this article nor Japan Care Concierge can judge whether you are fit to travel or what treatment you need. Your own doctor decides that.

Costs at a glance

Use the table to know what to ask about before you sit down. It lists the charges a visitor meets in one visit, who sets each one, and the question that settles it.

Clinic or hospital

Japan lets patients choose any clinic or hospital without a registered family doctor, which the MHLW manual calls free access. For a routine problem the usual first door is a neighborhood clinic. A large hospital is built for specialist and advanced care, and the national system pushes people toward clinics first.

The push comes through money. The MHLW leaflet for patients explains that advanced-treatment hospitals (tokutei kinou byouin, which include university hospitals) and certain hospitals with 200 or more general beds must collect a special charge from patients who arrive without a referral letter: at least 7,000 yen for a first medical visit and 3,000 yen for a return visit when the hospital has advised a return to a local clinic. Dental minimums are 5,000 yen and 1,900 yen. The leaflet dates from the October 2022 revision, the amounts are minimums, and each hospital posts its own figure. The leaflet is written for insured patients. A hospital may not charge emergency patients, and it lists self-pay patients among those the hospital need not charge, so whether an uninsured visitor pays this extra amount is up to the hospital. Ask when you call.

A referral letter (shoukaijou) is a document from one medical institution to another. It is not a visa document and it is not required for you to be seen. A letter from your doctor at home is useful for the clinical picture. Whether a Japanese hospital treats it as a referral for the fee is the hospital's decision, so do not assume.

To find a facility that handles foreign patients, start with the JNTO medical institution search linked from its medical guide for visitors, and look for the JMIP mark, which JNTO says indicates services for foreign patients. Our guide to finding English-speaking doctors in Japan explains directories in more detail.

Papers from home

The first visit goes better when the doctor can see your history in one page. Ask your doctor at home for a short letter or summary that you carry on paper and on your phone. Whether the letter is enough, or the Japanese doctor wants more, is for that doctor to say.

Suggested contents, as a proposal rather than an official list:

• Diagnoses with dates and the name of the treating specialty.
• Current medicines by generic name, strength and daily dose. The MHLW manual warns that a product with the same brand name abroad can contain different ingredients in Japan.
• Allergies and past reactions to drugs.
• Recent test results that matter for your condition, such as blood pressure, blood sugar or kidney values, with units.
• Devices and implants, and a phone number where your own doctor can be reached.
• Passport number and the name of your insurer's emergency line, kept on the same page.

Language

Not every facility works in English. JNTO says institutions differ in the languages they support and advises contacting them before you go, and it notes that few offer other languages. Plan the language part of the visit as carefully as the medical part.

Call or have someone call the day before. Ask whether a staff member or an interpretation service covers your language, whether you need an appointment or can walk in, and the hours. JNTO's guide describes a symptom-pointing sheet and a personal medical information form, both useful for describing pain or noting medicines when words fail.

The Japan Visitor Hotline (050-3816-2787) answers in English, Chinese and Korean around the clock. JNTO states that it does not provide three-way interpretation and does not book appointments for visitors. A family member or companion who can sit in the room and take notes is worth more than a phone line. If you travel alone, discuss that with your family before you leave.

Reception to payment

A typical outpatient visit follows the same order at most facilities. Details change between clinics, so treat this as a map, not a promise.

• Arrive with your passport, your doctor's letter, your medicines in original packaging, and cash. Carry more than you expect to spend, since clinics generally take cash.
• Tell the desk you have no Japanese health insurance. Ask for the approximate cost.
• Fill in the registration form and the medical information sheet. Ask for an English copy if there is one.
• Wait. Allow time, since a walk-in visit to a busy hospital can be slow. Bring water and any medicine that falls due.
• Meet the doctor. Show the letter and the medicine list first. Ask what each test is for.
• Pay at the cashier. JNTO says the payment covers the treatment received up to that point.
• If a prescription is issued, take it to the pharmacy the same day and ask how long it remains valid.

Prescriptions

In Japan a pharmacy dispenses on a doctor's prescription. Article 23 of the Pharmacists Act requires a prescription from a doctor, dentist or veterinarian before a pharmacist dispenses medicine for sale or supply. In practice a visitor who needs a refill must be examined first, because the MHLW manual tells hospitals to explain that a prescription cannot be issued without a consultation when a patient says they only want medicine.

The manual also notes that visitors sometimes ask for a year's supply and that each hospital should set its own policy on long prescriptions. Expect the answer to differ from clinic to clinic, and expect the doctor to choose what to prescribe, which may not be your brand. Bring the generic name and strength so the doctor can match it.

Two other guides cover the neighboring questions. How much you may carry in is in bringing medication to Japan. How to keep a supply going over a long stay is in medication supply for a long stay in Japan. A resident's refill routine is explained in continuing prescriptions in Japan, though a visitor's position is different.

Claiming later

Many overseas travel policies work on a pay-and-claim basis: you pay the clinic, then ask the insurer for a refund. The MHLW manual says insurers may refuse or call the clinic if the link between tests, treatment and prescriptions is unclear, so ask the doctor to explain the diagnosis in a way the insurer can follow.

Before you leave the building, ask for an itemized receipt and, if your insurer needs one, a medical certificate. Ask the insurer in advance what form it needs. The manual says hospitals confirm the purpose and the submission address of a certificate, check whether the insurer has its own form, and explain the fee and the time it takes. If the facility does not write in a foreign language, the certificate comes in Japanese, so budget time for translation.

Cashless arrangements exist but vary. JNTO says that with insurance that includes cashless payment you may not have to pay, and that conditions differ by insurer. Call the insurer's assistance line before the visit if cashless payment matters to you.

Refusals

Article 19 of the Medical Practitioners Act says a doctor engaged in treatment may not refuse a request for examination or treatment without a justifiable reason. An MHLW notice of 25 December 2019 explains how far this goes. It calls the rule a duty the doctor owes to the state, not a private duty to the patient, so do not treat it as a right to argue at the desk. The main factor is urgency. For a stable patient who needs no urgent care, the notice reads the reasons for declining more loosely, and they include the doctor's specialty, the facility's capacity and whether another facility can help. Outside consulting hours, a stable patient need not be seen at once.

On foreign patients, the notice says the reasons are judged as for Japanese patients. Differences of culture or language, or the fact that a tourist could go home for care, do not justify refusal by themselves, unless they make the treatment itself significantly difficult. Uncertainty about payment, such as having no insurance, also does not justify refusal by itself.

A planned visit for a stable condition is the case where a clinic has the most room to decline. It may tell you it cannot help, for example because no staff member can communicate or because the condition needs a specialist. That is different from a refusal on the grounds of nationality. Ask where they would send you, thank them, and try the next place on your list. The hotline will not book for you, but your companion can call two or three facilities in the same morning.

In an emergency do not travel to a clinic that suits you. Call 119. JNTO notes that you cannot choose which hospital an ambulance takes you to, and that emergency hospitals are available 24 hours a day, every day. Tell your insurer afterwards, as early as you can.

Support during visits

Some visitors want a bilingual person beside them at the clinic, at the pharmacy, or on the way home, because of language or because standing in a queue is hard. Japan Care Concierge is a care concierge affiliated with a social welfare corporation. We are not a medical institution, an insurer, a travel agency or a law office. Our accessible travel support page explains what accompaniment and medical groundwork during a stay can look like. We do not diagnose, choose treatment or arrange bookings.

Stay and treatment

A treatment plan can run past the date on your return ticket. A visitor who needs treatment beyond the date on the stamp should ask the Immigration Services Agency before the stay expires, and not wait for the last day. Immigration decides each case individually, and the agency's page on the temporary visitor status is the place to start. We explain the limits in Japan's 90-day limit for older visitors and in the pillar on long-term stays in Japan.

For a stay near the full three months, plan the doctor visit in the first fortnight, not the last. A first appointment leaves time for a second one if the doctor wants a test result, and a short buffer for a prescription to be filled. Our guide to three months in Japan for older travelers sets out a month-by-month rhythm that leaves room for this. If your condition is long-standing, read traveling to Japan with a chronic condition before you pack records.