This is the gate to every covered service, and you apply at the municipal office or the local support center. Because it takes about a month and does not pay backward, apply the moment decline is clear rather than waiting for a crisis. Coming from overseas, families lose weeks expecting hospitals to arrange it; they do not. Start the application yourself, then let the assessment and doctor's report follow.
How the application runs
The application goes to the long-term care section of the municipality where the parent is registered, with the insurance card attached. The community support center or a care management office can file it for the family.
A municipal investigator then visits for the assessment interview. At the same time the municipality asks the parent's regular doctor for a written opinion. A computer scores the interview first, and the certification committee of medical and welfare professionals makes the final decision.
The law sets 30 days as the target. In a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare tally the median insurer averaged 39.3 days from application to decision. At that median insurer, only 21.4% of decisions arrived within 30 days.
Results and validity
The notice arrives by post and places the parent in one of eight outcomes: not eligible, support level 1 or 2, or care level 1 to 5.
A first certification usually lasts six months. Renewals usually run 12 months and can stretch to 48 months when the condition is stable. A renewal application can be filed from 60 days before the expiry date.
A new certification takes effect from the application date. Services used while waiting can therefore be covered within the level that is eventually granted. A result of not eligible leaves those costs with the family, so talk through the likely outcome with the care manager before starting services early.
Applying from abroad
Families overseas can phone the community support center and ask it to file. A relative may sit in on the home interview, so mention any dates you will be in Japan when the application goes in.
Send the center a short dated list of recent incidents such as falls, missed medication and nights awake. The care levels guide explains what each result means. The care needs check gives a rough sense of the likely level before you apply.
Read more: Care levels and certification
Related terms
- 認定調査（nintei chousa）— assessment visit
- 主治医意見書（shujii ikensho）— doctor's opinion
- 要介護1–5（youkaigo）— care levels 1–5
Where to go next
This word will come back at the home assessment or in the first care plan. The full Japanese elder care glossary holds 54 terms, and the long-term care insurance guide shows where each one sits in the process.
If you would rather someone handled the Japanese side, our care navigation service does that, and the first consultation is 30 minutes and free. Definitions here are general orientation and rules vary by municipality; see our editorial policy or contact us with your situation.