Concierge
When no relative is on the ground in Japan, a concierge or care-navigation layer becomes the in-country contact that covered public services do not provide. These articles explain what concierge care covers, what it costs, and the situations where an in-country point of contact earns its place.
Care supportStart with the pillar guide for this topic: Care navigation service. It covers the system end to end, and the 13 articles below go deeper on one decision each.
If you are at the very beginning, the sequence is the same for every topic. Apply for a care-needs certification at the community support center for your parent's municipality, then use the wait to compare costs and housing. The first consultation with us is 30 minutes and free.
How care concierge and navigation support can help families organize next steps.
2026-07-05
A hospital cannot legally refuse to admit your parent just because no guarantor is available, but most still ask for one, and a private guarantor company typically costs ¥1 million to ¥2 million in Japan.
Read article2026-07-05
A "free" nursing home referral center (shoukai center) in Japan is not paid by the family. It is paid by the facility once a resident moves in, usually one to two months of the monthly fee or a share of the move-in deposit, and that success-fee model is exactly why the recommendation is not always neutral.
Read article2026-07-05
Long-term care insurance pays for the ride to the hospital and help boarding the vehicle, but it rarely pays for someone to sit through the actual consultation or send you an English report; that gap is filled by care taxis, private companions, and family, each at a different cost and with a different answer to "can they come into the exam room."
Read article2026-07-05
A shigo jimu inin (after-death affairs) contract pays someone in Japan roughly ¥1 million to ¥2 million upfront to cremate you, notify offices, and clear the room a will cannot cover, because a will only says who inherits, not who acts.
Read article2026-07-05
Japanese hospitals do not expect family to nurse a patient, but they do expect someone to supply clean clothes, daily items, and a signature; a CS set rental runs roughly ¥390 to ¥600 a day and a paid visitor typically ¥2,500 to ¥3,000 an hour, so overseas families can cover the gap without flying over.
Read article2026-07-05
Some of a parent's Japan errands need nobody's permission, some need a notarized power of attorney and a signature certificate from an embassy, and a few (medical consent, most financial decisions after capacity declines) legally need a guardian instead of a stand-in.
Read article2026-07-05
A Japanese hospital's "key person" (キーパーソン) is a role the institution invents at admission, not a legal status, and there is no rule that it has to be filled by someone physically in Japan; the real constraint is whether that person can be reached fast enough and show up when a care conference is called.
Read article2026-07-05
Once a parent moves into a care facility, an empty house left unmanaged in Japan can be reclassified as a "kanri fuzen akiya" and lose the property tax discount on up to 200 square meters of land, a change that can push the land's tax bill toward six times its previous amount.
Read article2026-07-05
A family grave in Japan needs an annual management fee of roughly ¥5,000 to ¥20,000 paid every year or it can be reclassified as an abandoned grave and removed after a one-year public notice; families abroad usually choose between a proxy visiting service, switching to a perpetual-memorial plot, or a formal hakajimai closure with a reburial permit.
Read article2026-07-05
When a parent in Japan stops answering and you cannot travel, there are three ways to get someone to their door within roughly 24 to 48 hours: a police welfare check, a call to the local comprehensive support center or minsei-iin, or a paid proxy visit that costs about ¥3,300 to ¥7,700.
Read article2026-06-04
Concierge care explained: concierge medicine vs senior care concierges vs geriatric care managers, real cost ranges for each, what they cannot replace, and the twist that changes the math in Japan.
Read article2026-06-03
How elderly and senior concierge services in Japan organize care, medical access, and family communication, what they cost, and how to judge a provider.
Read article2026-06-08
Concierge medicine in Japan is not the US membership-doctor model. It is private, self-pay access through international clinics, hospital VIP departments, and house calls. How it works, what it costs, and when it is worth it for an aging parent.
Read articleBrowse every topic on the full article index, or see all care system guides.
