National Health Care

Treatment at medical institutions in Japan can be very expensive and can lead to a large financial burden if you do not have insurance. The National Health Insurance is a health insurance program that covers part of the medical fees incurred by illness or injury to residents.

If you present your national health insurance certificate to a medical institution, you only pay 30% of the medical fees applicable to the Health Insurance Law and the rest will be covered by the National Health Insurance.

According to the Ordinance of Enforcement of the Health Insurance Law (revised April 1 1986, June 8 2004), all foreign residents who will stay in Japan for more than three months are required to join the National Health Insurance program. You cannot withdraw from this program at your own discretion.

• Bring your Residence Card or Alien Registration Card and your Passport to the insurance and pension division of your ward office or the health insurance division of your city hall to subscribe to the insurance.
• As you are eligible for the national health insurance program from the day you complete your basic resident registration, you must fill out the health insurance application form together with the basic resident registration (moving-in notice) at the city hall. If you do not enroll in the insurance program shortly after completing the basic residence registration, you may later be required to pay insurance premiums for the period in which you were not insured. Additionally, you will be responsible to pay in full any hospital fees billed during the period before you register for the insurance.
• International students who lived in Japan before they entered Ritsumeikan are required to follow procedures to register a change of address in their alien registration or basic residence registration, by submitting a moving-in notice to the city hall or ward office of the area in which they are going to reside, and must join the national health insurance program. The national health insurance card issued by the city hall or ward office of the area in which the student previously resided cannot be used. Please note that you first have to submit a moving-out notice in your previous city of residence before moving.
• You are asked to swiftly notify the insurance and pension division of your ward office or the national health insurance division of your city hall of the following:
  • Any changes made to the information on your residence card, such as changes to your name or address: Within 14 days of the change
  • When you leave Japan to study abroad, take a leave of absence, graduate from the university or compete your studies at the university: Before you leave Japan
Note: If you fail to notify your city hall or ward office of your departure from Japan when you study abroad or take a leave of absence, you will not be able to have a new national health insurance card issued or may have to pay the premiums for the period in which you were not staying in Japan.

The National Health Insurance Fee Assistance provided by the Ritsumeikan University Parents Association for International Student Education ended in AY2025. Additionally, please let it be known that the Kyoto City National Health Insurance Subsidy for International Students has also been phased out.