Our Mission
Moving to, working in, or visiting Japan comes with a lot of unfamiliar systems — and insurance is one of the most confusing. Japan Insurance Guide was created to help foreigners in Japan — whether you’re a short-term visitor, an international student, a working professional, or a long-term resident — understand exactly what insurance you need, how to get it, and what happens if you don’t.
We focus on clear, practical, step-by-step information based on how Japan’s insurance and healthcare systems actually work, rather than generic advice that doesn’t account for the realities of navigating this as a foreign resident or visitor.
Who We Are
Japan Insurance Guide is an independently run website based in Japan. It’s written and managed by a Japan-based writer who has also studied abroad. That experience of navigating an unfamiliar country’s systems — including insurance — as an outsider is what inspired this project.
Every time we traveled or studied overseas, insurance was one of the first things we had to sort out, and one of the most confusing. We’ve also seen firsthand, both through our own experience abroad and through friends coming to study or live in Japan, how much anxiety and confusion insurance questions can cause — and how real the risk is if something goes wrong without coverage in place. Japan Insurance Guide exists to bring together clear, practical answers to those questions in one place, specifically for people navigating Japan’s system from the outside looking in.
We’re not licensed insurance agents or immigration professionals, and our guides are not a substitute for official advice from your ward/city office, your insurance provider, or a qualified professional. What we do bring is a genuine, ongoing effort to research each topic thoroughly and present it in plain language — the way we wish it had been explained to us.
How We Keep Our Content Accurate
- We regularly review and update our guides to reflect current procedures and requirements.
- Where relevant, we reference official sources such as government agencies and municipal offices.
- We revise articles when procedures, requirements, or pricing change.
If you notice information that seems outdated or inaccurate, please let us know — see our contact details below.
How This Site Makes Money
Japan Insurance Guide is supported by affiliate partnerships. This means we may earn a commission when you sign up for or purchase a service through certain links on our Site, at no additional cost to you. This never affects the objectivity of our recommendations — we only recommend products and services we believe are genuinely useful for our readers. Full details are available on our Affiliate Disclosure page.
Contact Us
For questions, corrections, or partnership inquiries, please use our Contact page.
We aim to respond to all inquiries within 2-3 business days.