Written by a licensed Japanese physician

Japan's healthcare system, finally explained.

Clear, medically accurate guides for foreign residents — written by a doctor who works inside the system every day. No insurance sales. No sponsored clinics. Just what you need to know.

Read the guides Decode your checkup results
Physician-writtenNot a blog, not a broker — clinical accuracy first
Primary sourcesBased on MHLW regulations and Japanese clinical guidelines
IndependentNo payment accepted from clinics or insurers
Kept currentRules and figures re-verified every fiscal year

Essential guides

Most read

How to Read Your Japanese Health Checkup (健康診断) Results

A physician's guide to the A–D judgment marks, the "metabo" waistline, and what 要精密検査 actually means on your kenkō shindan report.

 Money · Updated Aug 2026

The Cap on Your Medical Bills — Japan's High-Cost Medical Expense Benefit

The single most valuable rule in Japanese health insurance, and how the August 2026 revision changed the numbers. Includes the new annual cap.

 Medication

The Japanese Medicine Cabinet — What Equals What

Loxonin, Karonal, kakkonto and the rest, mapped to the drugs you know from home. Plus the medicines you cannot legally bring into Japan.

 Urgent care

Fever at 2 a.m. — Emergency and After-Hours Care in Japan

#7119, #8000, and how to decide between waiting until morning, calling for advice, and calling an ambulance. A physician's decision guide.

 Culture decoded

Why Your Doctor Gave You Three Days of Medicine

Short prescriptions, referral letters, five-minute consultations and the drip you did not expect. The logic behind Japanese clinical customs that confuse newcomers.

Premium guide

Your Checkup, Decoded

Every line of the Japanese health checkup report — each abbreviation, reference range and judgment mark — explained in plain English, with what to do next. Written and reviewed by a Japanese physician.

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