Medical Institutions in Kitakyushu City

As of April 1, 2016, there are 90 hospitals and 960 clinics in Kitakyushu City, allowing residents to live with peace of mind. There are medical facilities offering services in foreign languages. You are advised to check beforehand what kinds of hospitals there are around your house or school.

Fukuoka Medical Information Network

Health Insurance

It is a requirement for foreigners staying in Japan for 3 months or longer to enroll in health insurance. When you enroll, whether at a workplace (Employee’s Health Insurance), at the National Health Insurance and Pension Division of a ward office (National Health Insurance), or as someone who is 75 years or older (Medical Care System for the Elderly), you will be issued a Health Insurance Card. When you visit a hospital or clinic, please take your card.Monthly insurance premiums are required, but you will be able to receive medical treatment by paying only part of the cost. However, foreigners entering Japan with the sole purpose of receiving medical treatment may not enroll in either National Health Insurance or the Medical Care System for the Elderly.

Types of Healthcare Facilities

Medical offices and clinics are healthcare facilities with less than 20 beds that provide treatment for minor health conditions. Hospitals, as compared to medical offices and clinics, are more fully equipped to handle testing and hospitalization. If you visit a large hospital without a letter of introduction from a smaller facility, you may be charged additional fees. Most medical offices and hospitals have fixed hours for outpatients, and doctors see patients according to order of arrival. Routinely check what kind of healthcare facilities are available nearby in case you become sick.

Dispatch of Medical Interpreters (free-of-charge, reservation required)

Medical interpretation staff are dispatched to assist with medical consultations carried out in Japanese at hospitals, so that medical treatment can be received with peace of mind.Languages spoken: English, Chinese, Korean

Kitakyushu International Association

List of Emergency Hospitals

Before the rest of the country, Kitakyushu City has established a three-layer emergency medical service system, under which hospitals are classified into three categories according to the severity of the emergency cases they treat.

Patients with Relatively Mild Conditions

In addition to primary care clinics (family doctors), two Night and Holiday Emergency Centers, Children’s Emergency Center, two Holiday Emergency Clinics respond to patients with relatively mild illness.

  • Children’s Medical Center (within Kitakyushu City Yahata Hospital)
  • Kitakyushu General Hospital
    • 1-1 Higashijono-machi, Kokurakita-ku
    • Mon.–Fri.: 17:00-07:00 the following day
      Sat., Sun. & Holidays: 09:00–07:00 the following day
      *Emergency patients with serious conditions accepted 24 hours/365 days
    • 093-921-0560
    • http://www.kitakyu-hp.or.jp/contents/kitahos_sogo.htm
  • National Hospital Organization Kokura Medical Center
    • 10-1 Harugaoka, Kokuraminami-ku
    • 24 hours/365 days
    • 093-921-8881
      *Telephone call required prior to visit.
    • http://www.kokura-hp.jp
  • Japan Community Healthcare Organization (JCHO) Kyushu Hospital
    • 1-8-1 Kishinoura, Yahatanishi-ku
    • 09:00-24:00 every day
      *Prior contact required between 00:00-09:00
    • 093-641-5111
    • https://kyusyu.jcho.go.jp
  • Night and Holiday Emergency Medical Center
  • Moji Holiday Emergency Clinic
  • Wakamatsu Emergency Clinic (Holidays)

Patients with Serious Conditions

Seventeen hospitals in the city accept emergency patients during holidays and nighttime, on a rotational basis (one hospital per day). Even if the hospital on duty cannot accept a patient, 30 hospitals in the city are ready to respond on a 24 hour basis according to patients’ conditions.

Patients with Critical Conditions

As Critical Care Centers, Yahata Hospital in Yahatahigahi-ku and Kitakyushu General Hospital in Kokurakita-ku are ready to accept serious emergency cases on a 24-hour basis throughout the year.

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