To persons from overseas visiting our medical facility for the first time
Foreign residents of Japan
At the General Reception desk of the hospital, please present a photo ID and your health insurance card (starting from autumn 2024, you will also need to present your My Number card; please note that if you are not enrolled in health insurance, you will need to pay the cost of your visit in full). If you have a letter of referral from another medical facility, please present it as well (if you do not have a letter of referral, you will need to pay a separate fee which is an additional fee for first-time patients). If you are being seen at our facility for the first time, a patient registration card will be created for you and initial procedures will be done.
Please note that if you do not speak Japanese, we will not be able to accommodate you directly, so we ask you to bring someone able to interpret medical information, or to have an interpreter provided through an international medical coordinating company (see below). In principle, only interpreters are permitted who have certification as professional medical interpreters, or who have ample experience in medical interpreting. In some cases, a person will be permitted to do medical interpreting if they have adequate Japanese proficiency, but this will depend on the judgment of the hospital.
Additional fee for first-time patients
For foreign patients residing in Japan, if you do not have a letter of referral, please be aware that you may be charged a separate fee of several thousand yen as a first-time additional fee. This fee is charged in the following instances:
- You are being seen at our facility for the first time, without bringing a letter of referral from another medical facility.
- You have been seen at our facility previously, and your illness or injury has healed or treatment has ended, but you are being seen for a new illness or injury.
- Medical findings indicate that continued treatment was necessary, but you chose to stop treatment, and it has been a month or longer since you were last seen.
Foreigners who have come to Japan for medical care or for travel
We do not directly accommodate foreigners at our facility who have come from overseas for the purpose of medical care or travel. You will need to go through an international medical coordinating company (see below).
When you contact the company, please clearly indicate the name of the hospital where you want to be seen. Also, the first consultation with the company is free, but please be aware that you will be charged for the company making specific arrangements to be seen at a medical facility, as well as being accompanied by a coordinator and interpreter when you are seen at the facility. Please ask the company about fees.
Please be aware also that fees for medical care will be different from those paid by Japanese, and that the fees are generally one to two times higher than those charged to Japanese.
International medical coordinating companies
In order to ensure that foreigners being seen at medical facilities in Japan can be seen smoothly and without anxiety, international medical coordinating companies provide services other than medical services, such as translating patient information, matching the patient with a medical facility, sending a coordinator and interpreter when the patient is seen at the facility, and arranging domestic payment to the medical facility on behalf of the patient.
There are various kinds of companies providing these services, but we recommend using a company that can provide support in obtaining a medical care visa, and can serve as a guarantor organization while you are in Japan.
List of guarantor organizations (1)
https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/medical_stay2.html
List of guarantor organizations (2)
https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/medical_stay3.html
Guarantor organization in the IMS Group
Company name: I-cell Networks Co., Ltd.
Telephone:：03-6268-0261
URL：English https://www.i-cell.co.jp/en/index.html
Chinese https://www.i-cell.co.jp/ch/index.html
Languages that can be accommodated: English, Chinese, Korean
Business hours: 08:30 to 17:30
Flowchart for foreigners being seen at our facility
