Your guide to
healthcare
in Japan.
Your complete guide to navigating Japan’s healthcare system.
Find clinics, check Japanese medicines, read practical guides, estimate costs and find agencies or remote interpreters who can help.
For visitors, residents and people planning medical travel.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?
Start with the task in front of you.
Find a clinic
Search clinics that accept foreign patients by area, language, department and opening times.
Search clinicsCheck a medicine
Look up a Japanese box, or the brand you use at home, and see what the label says.
Look up a medicinePrepare for an appointment
Fill in a bilingual intake sheet and use phrase cards at reception and the pharmacy.
Get the intake sheetPlan treatment in Japan
Check the medical stay visa, estimate costs and compare coordination agencies.
Estimate your costsExplore agenciesWhat brings you here?
A planning guide, not a symptom checker. Your choices stay on this page.
SPECIALIST SERVICES
Examples of specialist services in Japan
These examples link to hospitals’ own descriptions of their services. Check eligibility, referral requirements and language support with each hospital.
Endoscopic services
The National Cancer Center lists endoscopic treatment for selected early digestive cancers. National Cancer Center
Estimate your costs
MRI costs vary by examination, insurance coverage and provider. Use the calculator for a rough planning estimate. Estimate an MRI scan
Estimates are not quotes. Confirm the full cost with your provider.MRI machines per million people
US: 40 · Comparable-country average: 22. Peterson-KFF, 2020 report
Access to MRI appointments
An indicative booking timeframe. Appointment availability may vary by insurance coverage or visitor status, hospital and examination.
Endoscopic treatment (ESD)
The National Cancer Center treats selected early digestive cancers through an endoscope. Explore the technique
Neurological care
NCNP Hospital lists neurology, psychiatry and neurosurgery services. Explore NCNP
Health checkups
Planned ningen dock examinations at JIHS Center Hospital, with specialist input when needed. Explore checkups
Help across languages
University of Tokyo Hospital coordinates language assistance and medical-document translation for overseas patients. International patient support
Neurological care
NCNP Hospital lists neurology, psychiatry and neurosurgery services, including care for neurological and muscular conditions. Its departments describe their scope on the official hospital website.
NCNP hospital servicesEndoscopic treatment (ESD)
The National Cancer Center Hospital lists endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) among its treatments for selected early digestive cancers. The hospital’s clinicians assess which options apply.
National Cancer Center endoscopyHealth checkups
JIHS Center Hospital describes ningen dock health checkups, including day programmes. Its checkup centre considers individual circumstances when assessing results, with input from other specialists when needed.
Center Hospital checkupsInternational patient support
The University of Tokyo Hospital’s International Medical Center describes coordination with clinical departments, language assistance, medical-document translation and financial arrangements for overseas patients. Contact the hospital to confirm its requirements.
University of Tokyo Hospital patient supportListed for information only. Care Compass Japan has no relationship with these hospitals and does not recommend specific providers.
Check the service requirements, then plan for the full cost of care, language support and travel.
Estimate your costsHUMAN HELP, WHEN YOU NEED IT
Sometimes, you need
someone who knows the way.
Explore medical coordination agencies, with links to the official sources behind their listings. Ask directly about services, languages and fees.
What can you help me arrange?
Which languages can you support?
What does the written quote include?
Who will coordinate with the hospital?
GOOD INFORMATION DESERVES GOOD CONTEXT
Thoughtful guides.
Made to make sense.
PRACTICAL GUIDEHow seeing a doctor works in Japan
Find a clinic, get help in English and know what to expect.
Read the guidePRACTICAL GUIDETalking to a Japanese Clinic: Intake Form and Phrase Cards
A bilingual intake sheet to fill in before you go, show-this phrase cards for reception and the pharmacy, and how to arrange an interpreter.
Read the guidePRACTICAL GUIDEMedical Emergencies in Japan: 119, Advice Lines and After-Hours Care
The numbers to call, what the 119 dispatcher will ask, a phrase card to show, and what emergency care costs.
Read the guide
PRACTICAL GUIDEBringing your medicines into Japan
How much you can bring, which medicines are banned, and how to get permission for more.
Read the guide
PRACTICAL GUIDEHealth insurance documents for residents
Your old insurance card no longer works. Here's what to bring to the clinic instead.
Read the guidePRACTICAL GUIDETravel Medical Insurance for Japan: Payments, Claims and the Documents to Collect
How payment works when you have travel insurance, the three documents insurers ask for, and what to request before you leave the clinic.
Read the guide
PRACTICAL GUIDEJapan's medical stay visa, explained
For people coming to Japan for treatment or a health checkup.
Read the guide
PRACTICAL GUIDEHow to choose a medical agency in Japan
What registered agencies do, what to ask them, and when to walk away.
Read the guide