Announced Sept 5, 2026; comments close Oct 4 at 23:59 — draft ordinance amending National Health Insurance, elderly medical care and nursing care rules (MHLW)
On September 5, 2026, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) opened a public comment procedure on a draft ministerial ordinance titled "Ordinance Partially Amending the Enforcement Regulations of the National Health Insurance Act and Related Regulations." This is a formal procedure under the Administrative Procedure Act. Comments are accepted from 00:00 on September 5, 2026 until 23:59 on October 4, 2026. The case number is 495260179 and the responsible office is the Health Insurance Bureau's Division for the Elderly at MHLW. The draft is issued under three enabling provisions: Article 29-4-4(3) of the National Health Insurance Act Enforcement Order (Cabinet Order No. 362 of 1958), Article 16(8) and Article 16-4(2) of the Enforcement Order of the Act on Assurance of Medical Care for Elderly People (Cabinet Order No. 318 of 2007), and Article 22-3(10) of the Long-Term Care Insurance Act Enforcement Order (Cabinet Order No. 412 of 1998). As the word "related regulations" in the title indicates, the amendment spans three public insurance systems: National Health Insurance, the medical care system for people aged 75 and over, and long-term care insurance. In Japan, rules become more detailed in the order of act → cabinet order → ministerial ordinance, and ministerial ordinances set practical rules such as application forms and notification procedures. The specific content is set out in the "draft ordinance" and "outline" PDFs on the e-Gov case page. Because the comment period is still open, the content is not final and no enforcement date has been announced.
Foreign residents registered in Japan who are not covered by an employer's health insurance enrol in municipal National Health Insurance. This applies to students, the self-employed, freelancers and people between jobs, and those aged 40 and over also pay long-term care premiums. The three systems covered by this draft are therefore directly tied to daily life for foreign residents. However, this is still only the comment stage. The content is not fixed and no enforcement date has been announced. Nothing about your insurance card or premium payments changes right now, so if you see a definitive-sounding claim on social media, check the e-Gov case page and MHLW announcements first. Actual procedures will change only after the ordinance is promulgated and enforced and your municipality issues guidance.
Japan begins pre-entry tuberculosis screening (JPETS) in Indonesia on Nov 2, 2026. From Jan 4, 2027, a TB-free certificate must be submitted with a Certificate of Eligibility or visa application.
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is revising which diseases qualify as designated intractable diseases and the severity criteria for medical fee subsidies. Public comment runs to 29 October 2026 and applies to insured foreign residents too.
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare opened a public comment period on 7 September 2026 for a draft cabinet order arranging related orders for the partial enforcement of the Act amending the Social Welfare Act and others. Comments are accepted via e-Gov from 20:00 on 7 September until 20:00 on 7 October 2026, and anyone may submit regardless of nationality.
Source:
e-Gov Public Comment website (MHLW: public comment on the draft ordinance partially amending the National Health Insurance Act Enforcement Regulations and related regulations)This article was edited and written by freegent Inc. based on the source above.