Quick answer
This document relates to long-term care insurance (介護保険, kaigo hoken). Enrollment generally starts at age 40, and the system provides services when you need care due to old age or specified diseases. To use care services, you apply to your municipality (市区町村, shikuchōson — your city, ward, town, or village office) for care-need certification (要介護認定, yōkaigo nintei); after an assessment and review determine your level, you use services based on it. For premiums, eligibility, and the certification process, follow the explanations from your municipality and official sources.
What this document is
Long-term care insurance is administered by municipalities, and insured persons fall into two categories:
- Category 1 insured persons (第 1 号被保険者, dai-ichigō hihokensha): people aged 65 and over.
- Category 2 insured persons (第 2 号被保険者, dai-nigō hihokensha): people aged 40–64 who are enrolled in medical insurance (services apply only when care is needed due to specified diseases related to aging).
In connection with it, you may receive premium notices, the 介護保険被保険者証 (kaigo hoken hihokensha-shō, long-term care insurance insured person's certificate), or a certification result notice (認定結果通知, nintei kekka tsūchi) for care-need certification.
Common fields on the document
- 介護保険料 (kaigo hokenryō) — long-term care insurance premium.
- 介護保険被保険者証 (kaigo hoken hihokensha-shō) — long-term care insurance insured person's certificate.
- 要介護認定 / 要支援認定 (yōkaigo nintei / yōshien nintei) — care-need / support-need certification.
- 要支援 1・2 / 要介護 1～5 (yōshien / yōkaigo) — certification levels.
- 認定調査 / 主治医意見書 (nintei chōsa / shujii ikensho) — certification assessment / attending physician's opinion report.
- 第 1 号 / 第 2 号被保険者 (dai-ichigō / dai-nigō hihokensha) — the two categories of insured persons.
What you need to do
- Check your insured person category and how your 介護保険料 (kaigo hokenryō, premiums) are paid.
- When you need care, apply to your municipality for care-need certification (have your medical insurance card and similar documents ready — especially important for Category 2 insured persons).
- Cooperate with the certification assessment, arrange the attending physician's opinion report, and wait for the certification result (in principle you are notified within about 30 days).
- Based on your certified level, use services, for example through home-care support; if you have questions, check with your municipality's long-term care counter.
Where deadlines and amounts may appear
- Deadlines: care-need certification results are in principle issued within about 30 days of application; certifications have a validity period and must be renewed when they expire — follow your municipality's rules.
- Amounts: look for your premium under 「介護保険料」 (set according to income, premium bracket, and similar factors); services generally require you to pay a set percentage yourself, per your municipality and the system's rules.
Which official body to check with when unsure
For eligibility, premiums, and care-need certification, your municipality (its long-term care insurance counter) is the authoritative source; for general explanations of the system, see the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare website. Official explanations take precedence over any third-party interpretation.
Common Japanese terms
- 介護保険 (kaigo hoken) — long-term care insurance
- 要介護認定 (yōkaigo nintei) — care-need certification
- 要支援 / 要介護 (yōshien / yōkaigo) — support-need / care-need (certification levels)
- 被保険者証 (hihokensha-shō) — insured person's certificate
- 主治医意見書 (shujii ikensho) — attending physician's opinion report
- 介護保険料 (kaigo hokenryō) — long-term care insurance premium