If you have a resident card and intend to stay for more than 3 months, it is recommended to enroll in Japanese health insurance. Japanese government says all residents must be covered by a public health insurance.
If you are working full-time for a company, your company should offer to enroll you in Social Health Insurance.
If you are a student or self-employed, you will need to enroll in National Health Insurance.
Most Japanese clinics and hospitals accept National Health Insurance or Social Health Insurance. There is no need to pay 100% and you do not need to do reimbursement process yourself, simply pay your responsibility of 30% of the total fees including a doctor’s consultation, tests, treatments and medication.
Even if you have a health insurance in your own country, it cannot be used as a substitute for Japanese Health Insurance as Japanese hospitals and clinics do not usually accept foreign insurance for direct payment. If seeking a treatment under foreign health insurance, you will need to pay the full cost of everything and later submit reimbursement paperwork to your provider yourself. Often Japanese Hospitals do not issue receipts in English but your insurance company may ask English receipts. JHI can help with receipts translation.
For details, visit our page Japanese Health Insurance