Title: Japan Hospital Cost for Tourists: 10 Yen a Point, or 30?
Author: Artur Harmash
Published: 2026-10-15
Source: https://lymyvoyage.com/articles/japan-hospital-cost-yen-per-point
Citations:
- https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10800000/001490166.pdf
- https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/iryou/newpage_00026.html
- https://www.yakuji.co.jp/?p=132440
- https://sakuhp.or.jp/center/data/media/posts/202607/1点14円へ変更（2026.07.13）.pdf
- https://www.azumino.jrc.or.jp/cms/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/外国人患者診療単価変更のお知らせ.pdf
- https://www.tmd.ac.jp/medhospital/topics/document/20180823_price.pdf
- https://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1326285/
- https://watabi.org/en/articles/japan-hospital-cost-guide
- https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/001650895.pdf
- https://gemmed.ghc-j.com/?p=72848
- https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/travel-insurance-in-japan/
---
A visitor to Japan without Japanese health insurance pays the whole hospital bill. How big that bill is depends on one number most visitors never hear about: how many yen the hospital charges per "point."
Japan prices almost every medical act in points from a national fee schedule. For insured patients a point is worth 10 yen, and they pay their insurance share of that total.[^4] For uninsured visitors, each hospital sets its own rate. In 2026 several hospitals raised theirs, and a rule change allowed some to charge up to 30 yen.
Uninsured in Japan, the same treatment can cost 10 yen a point at one hospital and 30 at another. Which rate will your bill use?
Japan's health ministry surveyed 5,424 hospitals that price this way. Most, 85.4%, charged 10 yen a point or less. Only 2.5% charged more than 20 yen.
The hospitals best set up for foreign patients charged the most. Among 81 hospitals certified for foreign patients, 39.5% charged over 20 yen a point.
There is a reason. Hospitals and the ministry cite interpreters, extra staff time and unpaid bills. In the ministry survey, 18.3% of hospitals that treated foreign patients had at least one unpaid bill.
The survey is from September 2023. Since then the rules have changed and some hospitals have raised their rates. It cannot tell you any one hospital's price today.
Ask the hospital its price per point before treatment, and buy travel insurance with medical cover. It can be bought after you land.
## One schedule, many prices
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) surveyed hospitals in September 2023 and published the results in July 2024.[^1] More than 90% of hospitals priced care for uninsured foreign patients by multiplying the national point schedule. The rest set their own price lists.
Among the 5,424 hospitals using points, most charged the same rate as for insured care, but not all:
The survey also looked at hospitals certified for foreign patients by two schemes. One is the Japan Medical Service Accreditation for International Patients (JMIP). The other is Japan International Hospitals (JIH). Only 28.4% of those 81 hospitals charged 10 yen a point or less. A further 29.6% charged between 15 and 20 yen, and 39.5% charged more than 20.
The same pattern shows up in interpreter fees. Only 2.2% of all hospitals charged one on top of treatment, against 23.5% of the certified hospitals. The certified hospitals were also more likely to employ coordinators for foreign patients.[^1]
## What named hospitals charge
Hospital notices show how far apart the rates are. Each applies to patients without valid Japanese public health insurance.
| Hospital | Yen per point | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Insured patients, any hospital | 10, of which the patient pays their insurance share | National rule |
| Saku Central Hospital, Nagano | 14 | Notice dated July 2026[^4] |
| Azumino Red Cross Hospital, Nagano | 30, up from 12 | 1 March 2026[^5] |
| Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital | 30, plus consumption tax | 1 October 2018[^6] |
| Kutchan Kosei Hospital, Hokkaido (near Niseko) | Tripled | 1 May 2026[^7] |
Kutchan Kosei Hospital serves the Niseko ski area. The Hokkaido Shimbun reported that it tripled its self-pay fees for foreign visitors from 1 May 2026.[^7] The newspaper put the new price at ten times what an insured Japanese patient pays out of pocket. The hospital cited the cost and time of treatment through interpreters, and expects more than 100 million yen a year in improved finances.
To see what that means, take a bill of 1,000 points. At 10 yen it is 10,000 yen. At 14 yen it is 14,000. At 30 yen it is 30,000 yen.
The multiplier is not always the whole bill. Azumino Red Cross also raised its inpatient meal charge, from 828 yen to 2,070 yen a meal.[^5] Tokyo Medical and Dental University adds consumption tax on top.[^6] Saku Central Hospital explains its rate by the extra work: interpreting, translation, and dealing with overseas insurers and payment checks.[^4]
## The 2026 rule change
Some hospital operators enjoy tax-favoured status, and their pricing for uninsured foreigners was tied to the insured rate. The MHLW loosened that from April 2026.[^2] Six named types of operator may now charge up to three times the insurance-based price, capped at 30 yen a point. They include social medical corporations and federations of agricultural cooperatives.
The trade paper Yakuji Nippo independently reported the same change, effective 1 April 2026.[^3] It said the ministry cited interpreting, cultural and religious accommodation, and the risk of unpaid bills. In the public consultation, seven comments supported the change and five opposed it, some warning of price gouging.
The cap applies only to those six types. The ministry's own notice says other operators may bill "the necessary costs" of treating foreign self-pay patients regardless of it, as reported by the guide site Watabi.[^8] So 30 yen is not a national maximum.
## What the headline numbers leave out
The survey percentages are from September 2023. They predate the 2026 rule change and the price rises at Azumino, Saku and Kutchan. No newer national figure was found.
Unpaid bills are a real cost to hospitals. In the same survey, 516 hospitals had at least one bill unpaid a month after billing.[^1] That is 18.3% of the 2,813 hospitals that treated foreign patients that month. Most unpaid bills were 50,000 yen or less.
Unpaid bills can also follow the patient.
Since May 2021 the MHLW has passed unpaid bills by foreign visitors to the immigration agency, which screens them strictly on re-entry. A ministry notice of 4 February 2026 lowered the reporting threshold from 200,000 yen to 10,000 yen, for bills arising from 1 April 2026.[^9] The medical news site GemMed reported the same change.[^10] The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) tells visitors they "may be restricted or refused entry."[^11]
## How to use this
Before treatment that is not an emergency, ask the reception desk one question: "Ichi-ten ikura desu ka?" It means "How much per point?" Then ask whether interpreter fees and consumption tax are extra.
Illness on a trip is not rare. JNTO cites a Japan Tourism Agency survey in which one traveller in twenty fell ill or was injured abroad.[^11] Buy travel insurance with medical cover before you go. If you forgot, JNTO says it is possible to buy it after arriving in Japan.[^11] Pay or settle every bill before you leave.
[^1]: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10800000/001490166.pdf — Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), "令和5年度 医療機関における外国人患者の受入に係る実態調査 結果（概要版）" (FY2023 survey of foreign patient acceptance at medical institutions, summary), fieldwork September 2023 (published Jul 31, 2024). Accessed Oct 14, 2026.
[^2]: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/iryou/newpage_00026.html — Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), "社会医療法人等が行う訪日外国人患者の自由診療に係る診療費の上限について" (cap on self-pay fees for foreign visitor patients at social medical corporations and others), notification 医政発0331第41号 of Mar 31, 2026 (page updated Apr 1, 2026). Accessed Oct 14, 2026.
[^3]: https://www.yakuji.co.jp/?p=132440 — Yakuji Nippo, report on the amendment to the Medical Care Act Enforcement Regulations allowing up to three times the standard fee for uninsured foreign patients (2026). Accessed Oct 14, 2026.
[^4]: https://sakuhp.or.jp/center/data/media/posts/202607/1点14円へ変更（2026.07.13）.pdf — Saku Central Hospital, "外国人患者さんの診療費用について / Medical Fees for Foreign Patients" (notice, July 2026). Accessed Oct 14, 2026.
[^5]: https://www.azumino.jrc.or.jp/cms/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/外国人患者診療単価変更のお知らせ.pdf — Azumino Red Cross Hospital, "外国人患者診療単価変更のお知らせ / Medical fee revision for non-resident foreign visitors" (effective Mar 1, 2026). Accessed Oct 14, 2026.
[^6]: https://www.tmd.ac.jp/medhospital/topics/document/20180823_price.pdf — Tokyo Medical and Dental University Medical Hospital, notice on fees for patients without Japanese public health insurance (published Jul 18, 2018). Accessed Oct 14, 2026.
[^7]: https://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1326285/ — Hokkaido Shimbun, "倶知安厚生病院、訪日客の自費診療費3倍に引き上げ 年1億円超の収支改善へ" (Kutchan Kosei Hospital triples self-pay fees for foreign visitors) (published Jun 17, 2026). Accessed Oct 14, 2026.
[^8]: https://watabi.org/en/articles/japan-hospital-cost-guide — Watabi, "Japan hospital cost guide", citing the MHLW FY2023 survey and Health Policy Bureau notification 0331 No. 41. Accessed Oct 14, 2026.
[^9]: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/001650895.pdf — Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), Office for International Medical Development, 事務連絡 "訪日外国人受診者医療費未払情報報告システムに係る運用変更について" (change to the unpaid medical fee reporting system for foreign visitors) (dated Feb 4, 2026). Accessed Oct 14, 2026.
[^10]: https://gemmed.ghc-j.com/?p=72848 — GemMed, "外国人旅行者の医療費未払い問題、医療機関による報告基準を「20万円以上」から「1万円以上」に拡大し厳格対応―厚労省" (published Feb 10, 2026). Accessed Oct 14, 2026.
[^11]: https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/travel-insurance-in-japan/ — Japan National Tourism Organization, "Travel Insurance in Japan". Accessed Oct 14, 2026.