How long did it take you to get your hoken?

3 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **How long did it take you to get your hoken?**

   I’m planning to hurry to the ward office to get myself registered the day that I land, and I’ve heard anecdotally that a friend got theirs in about 10 days. They weren’t sure if that was 10 calendar days or 10 working days either. May I know what your experience was in receiving your hoken card and how quickly you were able to use it?

   I need to set up my care in Japan as soon as I can, for various reasons, hence the question. My ward will Bunkyo-ku, in case that affects the time taken.

   Thank you kindly in advance!

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2. I don’t have experience with Bunkyo-ku, but when I registered at my ward office I’m pretty sure I recall that they gave me the insurance card that day.

   For what it’s worth when I got here I managed to get myself all setup with insurance and a doctor and a fresh Japanese scrip for my meds in under a month, and that’s with the first week being in a hotel (so I didn’t have an address to register yet).

3. Not sure if this will ease your worries, but once you’re a resident, you are defacto covered. You will have to pay full price if you receive any medical treatment initially, but you can claim back the 70% covered once your properly signed up.

   In other words, if it does take time to get your card, you can still go to doctors and you will get the money back.