Mother
and Child health
Health guidance and checkups during pregnancy
◆ Classes for expectant mothers and future fathers
・ Municipalities hold courses to prepare both parents for pregnancy, childbirth
and childcare.
・ Pregnant women and their families can apply.
・ Classes are free, but they are in Japanese.
◆ Health visitors
・ Health visitors see you at home, know about your home circumstances and help
you to have a successful pregnancy and prepare for childbirth Ask at your local
municipal office for details.
・ The service is free; you apply personally, or sometimes your doctor refers
you.
・ This service is in Japanese.
◆ Health checkups for pregnant women
・ General pre-natal checkups are free; they average twice during the pregnancy,
at hospitals or clinics in your prefecture. You will be given vouchers for pre-natal
checkups when you receive your Mother and Child Health Handbook.
・ If you are not confident about using Japanese, try to go with a Japanese speaker.
For further information:
Contact (through a Japanese speaker) the local municipal office.
Costs of delivery
The hospital stay for childbirth is about one week in Japan. A delivery
without complications generally costs between \300,000 and \500,000.
You are eligible
for a lump-sum subsidy payment from the government of around \300,000.
Apply once your child is born, at the health insurance section of your
local
municipal
office
if you have National
Health Insurance (kokumin kenko hoken), or your company if you have
Employees’ Health Insurance (shakai hoken). Note: Expect a delay of a
month or two before payment.
Registering
your child’s birth
When a child is born, you must register the birth at your local municipal
office. The Family Registration Law requires all foreigners as well as
Japanese who have a child in Japan to register the child’s birth within
14 days.
◆ Who can register?
Either parent can register the birth.
◆ Where do you register?
Either the local municipal office where the child was born, or where the family
lives, or, if the child is a Japanese national, where the family is legally
domiciled (honseki-chi).
◆ What do you need to take?
・ Birth Registration Form (available at local municipal offices and some hospitals
or clinics)
・ Birth Certificate (the document signed and sealed by the doctor or midwife
and issued at the time of childbirth)
・ Seal of the applicant (signature is also acceptable)
・ Mother and Child Health Handbook
・ National Health Insurance Certificate (for holders of health insurance)
Some municipalities also ask to see the parents’ passports and foreign
resident registration cards (gaikokujin torokusho).
If your child is not a Japanese national, you need to make foreign resident
registration and acquire status of residence for the child, in addition
to registering the birth.
To register your child as a foreign resident
Register at the local municipal office within 60 days of the birth.
To apply for status of residence
Apply at the immigration office within 30 days of the birth.
You must also register the birth with your embassy or consulate.
For further information:
Contact（through a Japanese speaker）the local municipal office.
Health checkups for infants
Municipalities offer health guidance and checkups for children at various
stages of growth. Since these services vary from area to area, ask at
the municipal office where you are registered as a resident.
These services are all free but are provided in Japanese, so if you are not
confident about using Japanese, try to go with a Japanese speaker.
What health checks are offered?
Services typically include:
◆ Health visitors
・ Health visitors see you at home, know about your home circumstances, and
can advise you on childcare and prevention of illness. Ask at your local municipal
office.
・ The service is free; you apply personally, or sometimes your doctor refers
you.
Periodic health checkups are offered by municipalities at designated
hospitals or public health centers, generally at the following intervals:
◆ Health check-up for 3?4 month-old infants
・ This checks the growth and development of your child and also aims to detect
any congenital condition at an early stage. Guidance is also given on childcare,
vaccination, etc.
・ At the time of this check-up, you will be given a test kit for early detection
of neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer. Send your child’s urine sample
to a laboratory when it reaches 6-8 months of age.
◆ Health check-up for 8?10 month-old infants
・ To check growth and nutritional status, coordination, mental development,
etc., offered generally at designated hospitals or clinics.
◆ Health check-up for 18 month-old infants
・ To check growth and nutritional status, physical and dental diseases, and
the behavior and speech development of children aged 18 months, a stage of
marked motor (movement) and language development.
◆ Health check-up for 3 year-old children
・ To check growth and nutritional status, physical or dental problems, mental
development, and the sight and hearing of children aged 3, another important
stage of mental and physical development.
◆ Nursing services for premature babies
・ For babies born prematurely, health visitors make home visits and can offer
advice.
◆ Nursing care for children with chronic illnesses
・ Individual care is offered to children who need long-term medical treatment.
Vaccination
A vaccination is an injection to prevent illness. The following vaccinations
are generally free of charge, though some municipalities may charge for
them. We strongly recommend that you have your children vaccinated to
avoid health risks.
There may be some differences between Japan and your country in which vaccinations
are given or at what age. If you have recently come to Japan or plan to return
home before the end of course of vaccinations, take the vaccination record
of your child in the Mother and Child Health Handbook (boshi kenko techo) and
consult the public health center, the local municipal office, or a pediatrician.
A typical vaccination program（services offered may vary from area to
area.）
Vaccine Vaccination schedule Target age group
Polio Twice at 6-monthly intervals 3 months to 7? years
DPT
(diphtheria, whooping cough,tetanus)
DT
(diphtheria, tetanus) First stage: (4 initial injections)3 times at 3-8 week
intervals (Booster)
One time 12-18 months after the third injection 3 to 7? years
Second stage: one time 11 to 12 years
Measles One time 12 to 7? years
Rubella One time 12 to 7? years
Japanese encephalitis First stage: (Initial injections)3 times at 1-4 week
intervals(Additional injection)
One time, about 12 months after the initial injections 3 to 7? years
Second stage: One time 9 to 12 years
Third stage: One time 14 to 15 years
BCG One time A child of less than 4 years with a negative reaction to the tuberculin
test (i.e. not infected)
1st/2nd year students of elementary school and junior high school with a negative
reaction to the tuberculin test
Inpatient and outpatient medical expenses
Some municipalities will subsidize medical expenses for children who need medical
treatment as an inpatient or outpatient.
Ask at your local municipal office.
Medical expenses for children with chronic diseases
There are public subsidies for medical expenses for children who suffer
designated chronic diseases, such as asthma and diabetes.
◆ How much will you get?
・ You will receive the difference between the amount that your insurance covers
and the actual cost of treatment, if your child suffers from one of the following
designated diseases.
Malignant neoplasm, chronic renal disease (ESRD), asthma, chronic cardiac disease
(heart disease), endocrine (hormone) disorders, collagen disease, diabetes,
congenital metabolic disorders, hemophilia and other blood diseases, nervous
and muscular diseases.
Note: The diseases covered vary from area to area. Ask at your local public
health center.
◆ Who is eligible?
A child suffering from one of these diseases must meet all of the following
requirements to qualify:
・He/she must be resident in Japan.
・He/she is receiving treatment for one of the designated diseases at a designated
hospital or clinic.
・In principle, the child himself/herself has Japanese public health insurance.
◆ How to apply
・ The child’s parent or guardian should apply at their local public health
center.
For further information:
Contact (through a Japanese speaker) the public health center.
Medical expenses for children infected with tuberculosis
There are public subsidies for medical expenses for children who suffer designated
chronic diseases, such as asthma and diabetes.
◆ How much will you get?
・ You will receive the difference between the amount that your insurance covers
and the actual cost of treatment, if your child suffers from one of the following
designated diseases.
Malignant neoplasm, chronic renal disease (ESRD), asthma, chronic cardiac disease
(heart disease), endocrine (hormone) disorders, collagen disease, diabetes,
congenital metabolic disorders, hemophilia and other blood diseases, nervous
and muscular diseases.
Note: The diseases covered vary from area to area. Ask at your local public
health center.
◆ Who is eligible?
A child suffering from one of these diseases must meet all of the following
requirements to qualify:
・He/she must be resident in Japan.
・He/she is receiving treatment for one of the designated diseases at a designated
hospital or clinic.
・In principle, the child himself/herself has Japanese public health insurance.
◆ How to apply
・ The child’s parent or guardian should apply at their local public health
center.
For further information:
Contact (through a Japanese speaker) the public health center.
Medical expenses of single-parent families
There are subsidies for the difference between the amount that your
insurance covers and the actual cost of treatment, if you are a single-parent
family at the time your child needs treatment at a hospital or clinic.
The amount covered and the way it is paid vary according to municipality.
Ask at your local municipal office.
For further information:
Contact (through a Japanese speaker) the local municipal
office.
Medical expenses for premature babies
If your child is born prematurely and is recommended by a doctor at
any designated hospital or clinic as needing inpatient developmental
treatment, you can apply for help with payment. Depending on your income,
you may have to pay part of the cost. Coverage varies between municipalities.
◆ Who is eligible?
Prematurely-born children under one year who need developmental treatment
◆ How to apply
・ Apply at your local public health center.
◆ Take with you:
・ Application form for Developmental Treatment Benefit for Premature Babies
(yoiku iryo kyufu shinseisho)
・ Developmental Treatment Evaluation (made by a doctor at any relevant designated
hospital or clinic)
・ Form of Particulars of Family Members
・ Documents giving proof of income
For further information:
Contact (through a Japanese speaker) the public health center.
Medical care expenses for disabled children
There are subsidies for medical expenses for the treatment or rehabilitation
of children with physical disabilities.
◆ How much will you get?
・ In principle, you can get the difference the amount that your insurance covers
and the actual cost of treatment for the disability. Depending on your income,
you may have to pay part of the cost. Coverage varies between municipalities.
◆ Who is eligible?
・ Children under 18 and, in principle, enrolled in a Japanese public medical
insurance program.
・ Children recognized as suffering the same degree of disability as holders
of a “Physical Disability Certificate (shintai shogaisha techo).”
・ Children receiving treatment at a designated hospital or clinic.
◆ How to apply
・ Apply for your child at your local public health center
For further information:
Contact (through a Japanese speaker) the public health center.
