TLDR: For any of you who also have health issues and live in less populated places in Japan, how is the healthcare? How are disabled people treated? Especially in colder areas of Japan?
The languages I’m fluent in are English of course, Mandarin, and Japanese. If I ended up moving for healthcare I’d prefer Japan because I’m much more familiar with the language and cultural rules. I also have several invisible disabilities, and if it weren’t for the support of my parents I wouldnt be in the good condition I am now, and even now I’m still struggling. I heard Japan has really good healthcare and that it’s free, even for foreigners. I start dying in the heat, I can barely tolerate it anymore so places like Hokkaido/Sapporo or other cooler places seem like a dream to me because I do so much better in cold weather. Norway seems also like a sensible choice but I know nothing about Norway, or the language, and my dream is to translate Mandarin and Japanese, especially in healthcare or government/politics related things. If I don’t get my job of choice in the U.S. that has good insurance before my parents can longer be around I’m gonna have to move. My other friends with disabilities my age don’t have good insurance and struggle more than I do because they force themselves to wait until things get worse to go to the doctor. I have a genetic disorder that causes a ton of random stupid issues with my body, and I feel so terrified to be on my own. But also I am not a fan of living in a big city full time.
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**I’m gonna be honest, I’m scared of my future in the U.S. because of our healthcare system, what is Japanese healthcare like in smaller towns/in general?**
TLDR: For any of you who also have health issues and live in less populated places in Japan, how is the healthcare? How are disabled people treated? Especially in colder areas of Japan?
The languages I’m fluent in are English of course, Mandarin, and Japanese. If I ended up moving for healthcare I’d prefer Japan because I’m much more familiar with the language and cultural rules. I also have several invisible disabilities, and if it weren’t for the support of my parents I wouldnt be in the good condition I am now, and even now I’m still struggling. I heard Japan has really good healthcare and that it’s free, even for foreigners. I start dying in the heat, I can barely tolerate it anymore so places like Hokkaido/Sapporo or other cooler places seem like a dream to me because I do so much better in cold weather. Norway seems also like a sensible choice but I know nothing about Norway, or the language, and my dream is to translate Mandarin and Japanese, especially in healthcare or government/politics related things. If I don’t get my job of choice in the U.S. that has good insurance before my parents can longer be around I’m gonna have to move. My other friends with disabilities my age don’t have good insurance and struggle more than I do because they force themselves to wait until things get worse to go to the doctor. I have a genetic disorder that causes a ton of random stupid issues with my body, and I feel so terrified to be on my own. But also I am not a fan of living in a big city full time.
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It’s fantastic. At least for kids. My relative goes to this facility that’s newly built 4-5 years and the ratio of staff to patients is so low too. Chubu area small town
Where did you hear Japanese health care is free?
You will get insurance thru your work or government. But that cost way less than the US. And the coverages are the same for everyone. Japanese insurance is different. If you have specific medicine, procedures and such, you might want to do your research on it. I’ve heard they do not have coverage on the latest technogical treatment. Since it’s the government, they are slow at processing what is covered. (Just a rumor. Do your own research.)
Hokkaido, unless you are in Sapporo or Hakodate (the major cities), you could be hours away from hospitals.
Why don’t you go visit there to see how it is?
Healthcare is not free. In a number of fields JP healthcare is 10-20 years in the past. If your disease is rare I’d expect a lot of issues. It really depends on your disability’s but in general they are less accommodating. You often don’t have legal rights like you do in the US.
First off, it’s not free. You pay for the insurance (either through government or employer), and then after insurance, you have a 30% out-of-pocket cost. Less expensive? Sure. Free? No.
How do you plan on getting a visa here?
It’s anecdotal for sure, but my experience with it was awful (not just Tokyo but mostly). I’m from the UK where healthcare is good but almost inaccessible, I believe Japan is bad but fast. I was misdiagnosed and mistreated so many times over 1 year. Some things the doctors said or recommended was absolutely insane, I honestly couldn’t believe some of these people were doctors. When they finally started recommending surgeries I went home. I’ve got a friend over there who needs surgery now which potentially could have been avoided had they diagnosed his minor issue quicker, and my wife’s friends over there have stories of being ignored until it was an A&E trip.
I’m sure a lot of Americans will think of it highly as while not free at all, it’s cheaper than what they’re used to, but you spend so much getting misdiagnosed. Personally, I think if you have something complex it’s not worth risking your health.
Japanese health care is income based so it’s not free. If you have little to no income then yes it’s for all intensive purposes free. However, without income you can not live here as a foreigner so that is a moot point.
I’ve lived in USA and currently live in Japan.
In Japan, my healthcare isn’t free. I contribute some from my paycheck and my employer pays most of it. Perhaps it might be my visa or income, but my healthcare isn’t free.
Also, I wouldn’t say my healthcare is “really good”. I felt that doctors and hospitals in USA and Europe were more modern, innovative and empathic.
I don’t want to discourage you from Japan, it’s great for some people and not for others. Can you get an education visa and study in Japan for 6 months or so? That will give you time to try out the Japanese healthcare system.
If your dream is to translate in a healthcare setting, have you looked at working for one of the medium sized to larger healthcare systems in the USA? I’ve heard that employees of the healthcare company get really good benefits. There are a lot of Chinese on the west coast and someone with your skills would be in demand.
It’s certainly not free here. You pay for insurance through your employer or the government system. In that respect I suppose it’s a little closer to the US than the UK. My experience with facilities in Japan has always left me feeling like it’s quite antiquated. The US was by far the most modern and the care my family received was excellent. Facilities aside, doctors here in Japan don’t tend to keep up well with medical advances. I had a doctor try to prescribe me a medication that had fallen out of preference a decade ago. Never had troubles like this in the UK.
What is very good compared to the US is the standard health screening you have once a year. In the US the health check is a joke.
This simply because it’s routine, and it’s true for everything in Japan. Do you need something that is not standard? Be ready for a good time.
Health insurance in japan is paid monthly, and they cover 70% of your medical cost, the other 30% is paid by you. However, the healthcare cost is caped based on income, but the cap is usually about 1/3 of your monthly income already. If you are able to get a disability certificate, depend on your condition, the cap might be even lower to about 1 or 2 man yen a month.
if you have US health insurance subsidised in part by your employer, it is better than the care you will get in Japan.