As a welfare state, Japan takes pride in its admirable healthcare system. With the universal healthcare system, every person in the country receives tangible benefits from the provision of the national system. Maintaining a good health in the country is, therefore, assured regardless of your status and disposition.
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Health in Japan
Japan holds the record for the highest life expectancy in the world, and it has done so for many years now in succession. There is a good rationale for this admirable quality of life that the Japanese enjoy; on top of its consistent economic growth and technological progress, people enjoy a healthful life and availability of relatively inexpensive health services.
Certainly, their good, healthy diet and generally active way of life help greatly in maintaining a robust national health condition; but the Social Health Insurance and National Health Insurance made available to almost 100% of the Japanese population, whether in the private, public or universal scope, makes Japan an enviable leader among many nations in terms of assuring its citizens as well as foreigners wishing to reside there a long, healthy and full life.
The Japanese health care system is, in fact, the envy of the world. People are often impressed at how the Japanese can provide such inexpensive health care services to their people, the availability of medicine and widespread number of pharmacies in Japan, the state-of-the-art hospitals maintaining such a high level of life expectancy at the same time. The reasons are many and varied, as we shall show here.
Writer's Pick
Features of the Japanese Healthcare
Unique Advantages of Healthcare in Japan
The most unique feature of the health care program in Japan is its being mainly preventive, as opposed to most countries where the emphasis is placed on doing research on developing drugs and medical procedures to cure high-risk ailments, such as cancer. It is a widely-known worldwide medical bias which, unfortunately, has failed to alleviate the rising death tolls due to these and other systemic ailments, when the only best alternative is to prevent them from proliferating through nutritious diets and building up the health of the population in their growing years up to maturity and well into their old age. Educating people to maintain good health through the wider use of organic or natural diets and applying traditional lifestyles has helped Japan lead the way along this path. For instance, Okinawa is well-known for having many productive centenarians who attribute their long life to their simple, stress-free lifestyle and natural diet which, they proudly mention in particular, includes less-fatty pigs’ legs.
Moreover, the Japanese health care system provides free consultation or screening tests for certain diseases, unlike in most countries where such necessary fees could be almost half of or even more than the amount a patient may have to spend to fill out a prescription. In many cases in other countries, those who cannot afford those fees choose to go without the professional advice of a physician and self-medicate instead. Japanese citizens are also assured of excellent prenatal care, a prerequisite for assuring that families derive excellent health services at the early stages of a person's life.
Differences in Medical Training and Practice between Japan and other Countries
Another unorthodox feature among Japanese physicians, who generally do not undergo regular continuing education as most medical practitioners overseas do, is that they are not required to renew their licenses every so often. They also engage in highly-specialized fields, making them often sought by patients with specific medical concerns. This medical culture removes the western practice of having a family doctor who participates in general practice and often refers to severe or difficult cases when necessary to specialists. In short, the Japanese way removes the likely possibility of misdiagnosed conditions and cuts short the time a patient has to undergo stress while determining the problem, not to mention the great reduction in cost.
It is also interesting to note that most physicians in Japan practice within rural areas and not within urban areas, a totally uncharacteristic distribution compared to other countries where doctors choose to work in large cities.
※ International Citizens Insurance, "Understanding the Japanese Healthcare System"
Health Insurance in Japan
Japan provides a public healthcare system called SHI or Social Health Insurance, which covers employees who work on a full-time basis in medium or large companies. About 5% of the worker's salary is deducted as the premium contribution to SHI, apart from the employer's matching contribution on behalf of the worker. Those who work in small businesses, the self-employed, or those who do freelance jobs in IT at home or are on call-basis can get medical coverage under the National Health Insurance (NHI) program. One's gross income determines how much you contribute to NHI; in general though, the government covers 70% of healthcare costs, including such items as medical consultations, hospital visits, and sometimes medicine. The employee pays for the balance, although one's contribution can bring down that out-of-pocket medical expense.
※ Japan External Trade Organization, "Section 4. Human Resource Management 4.9 Japan's social security system"
There are other features in the Japanese health care program, one being the nursing care contribution of 2% as insurance coverage for citizens in regional municipalities beyond 40 years old who will need long-term care and nursing services in old age. Measures are also taken to prevent fraud among medical practitioners who may abuse the requirement of expensive medical tests even among those patients who may not actually need such tests.
※ International Citizens Insurance, "Understanding the Japanese Healthcare System"
Things to remember
In general, free health care is provided for all Japanese citizens, as well as for expatriates and foreigners who stay in the country for over one year. Foreign students and self-employed workers may simply apply for enrollment in a health care insurance program, which allows them to contribute insurance premiums through automatic salary deduction or regular personal payment. As language can be an issue among many native-speaking foreigners, the ability to speak conversational Japanese is essential, especially when seeking medical advice. In the case that you can't speak Japanese, there are numerous English-speaking medical practitioners in Japan; local governments should be able to assist you and provide a reputable list or database of hospitals with English-speaking doctors.
Non-Japanese citizens holding residence cards and currently residing in the country for over three months can also enroll in the healthcare program under the NHI or, for those working in large companies, under the SHI. Likewise, tourists and other transient visitors cannot get any healthcare coverage in Japan so it’s best to get travelers insurance. Nevertheless, Japan has excellent medical services and plenty of hospitals with world-class physicians and facilities with comprehensive services. Moreover, pharmacies are readily accessible for residents.
Summary
If you plan to stay in Japan for a longer period, having health insurance coverage is one important thing to have for your peace of mind and for safety as well. Learning and appreciating how much Japan has progressed in terms of its health care system will come in handy if ever you decide to work or settle there in the near future. Especially in this present age, having affordable and accessible healthcare is a huge blessing - and it’s extended to everyone in Japan.
