Hiya, curious Brit here!
From my understanding, Japanese has a system pretty similar to universal healthcare, where it is paid for through either taxes or an annual flat fee, so essentially everyone is entitled to ‘free’ healthcare. However, I was wondering if public healthcare extended towards transgender services, whether it be through counselling, hormone therapy (HRT), or surgeries. Here in the UK, although there are services for trans people through the NHS (National Health Service), the waiting lists for consultations are long, and for any treatment even longer – for example, it is not uncommon for trans masculine people to have to wait over 10 years for top surgery (removal of breasts). As a result, many transgender people instead opt to go private, as although they have to spend thousands, the results are quicker.
Overall, what is the system like in Japan? Are there specifically transgender services available for free? If so, what is the quality/waiting time of these services? Or do people prefer to go private? Are there any services available at all? If not, are there any movements to make them available? Is there any stigma/controversy around transgender healthcare?
Please keep replies respectful, as a transgender person myself I understand that this can be a controversial topic. Thank you so much!
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/x0vj9z/what_is_japanese_healthcare_like_for_transgender/
2 comments
I think that trans acceptance is not really a thing in japan, at least not publicly? I could be wrong but i don’t remember seeing much of it…
I don’t know anything about transgender people in Japan. But Japan does not have free healthcare; it has insurance systems that people enroll in either via the company they work for or via the government, which they pay monthly for and which cover 70% of people’s healthcare costs. All healthcare is privately provisioned. Japan does have universal coverage though – “universal” in the context of healthcare systems doesn’t mean “free”, it means that everyone in the country is covered by some form of insurance.