How the estimate works
Japan's long-term care insurance gives each certified care level a monthly coverage limit, set nationally in units (one unit is ten yen at the base rate; some regions and services price units up to about 14 percent higher). Users pay 10, 20, or 30 percent of the cost of covered services depending on income, and a high-cost cap refunds co-payments above a household ceiling tied to income. The simulator multiplies the limit for your selected level by how fully a typical plan uses it, applies your co-payment rate and the typical cap, then adds private-pay hours at the rate you choose.
What it deliberately leaves out: rent and utilities, food, medical insurance co-payments, daily supplies, facility room and board, and one-time costs such as home modification. Those belong in a real budget; our guide to the costs of elderly care in Japan and the article on what insurance does not cover map them. Figures are based on official fee tables current for the 2024 to 2026 period.