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Health Care Services for Tourists

If you get sick while staying in Japan, you will need to go to the hospital. However, unfortunately, we have to warn you that you are expected to pay an expensive medical fee. Every person with an address in Japan is required to enroll in some form of public health insurance by law, where eligible people receive insurance coverage up to 70% of their health costs. On the other hand, visitors cannot enroll in this public insurance and will be required to pay the entire cost of medical fees.

In Japan, doctor bills are expensive even for people with public insurance; therefore, it is strongly recommended that travelers take out travel insurance.

If your illness is not so serious, you might go to a drug store, get over-the-counter medicine, and stay in bed until the recovery. Pharmacies or Drug stores are called Yakkyoku y薬局 or Drug Sutoa = Drug store in Japanese. To find Japanese phrases to use when buying medicine at a drug store, see eigo-samples.com. To find Japanese phrases to use when buying medicine at a drug store, see eigo-samples.com
https://www.eigo-samples.com/en/shopping-drugstores.html

If you feel sick seriously, go to a hospital immediately. You can search for hospitals in Tokyo on this web site.

Tokyo Medical Institutions Information Service
https://www.himawari.metro.tokyo.jp/qq13/qqport/tomintop/

For medical emergencies, it is advisable to ask someone who speaks Japanese and call an ambulance (119). Hopefully, calling up an ambulance should be the final choice as you may be taken to a large hospital far from the place you stay.

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Public Health Insurance Systems in Japan

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