Japan Ends Temporary Acceptance of Outdated Insurance Cards

Int’l Desk: Japan will require verified insurance status for medical treatment starting in August, ending a temporary allowance for expired conventional health insurance cards. From the first of the month, patients seeking insured care must present either a My Number card registered for health insurance use or a special eligibility confirmation document. Those whose coverage cannot be verified on the spot may have to cover the full cost of treatment upfront, according to a report by the Japan Times.

Under the standard system, patients normally pay only a copayment that varies with age and income. People who have linked their My Number cards can simply show the card itself or a smartphone with the card’s digital functions activated when they visit a clinic, hospital or pharmacy. Anyone who has not completed the registration must instead produce a shikaku kakuninsho issued by their employer or health insurer.

Japan stopped printing the old-style insurance cards in December 2024 as part of the shift to the My Number system. Existing cards were kept valid until the end of 2025, and a temporary rule let medical providers accept the expired versions if eligibility could still be checked by other means. The health ministry has now made clear it will not prolong that arrangement.

On 1 July, it sent an administrative notice instructing hospitals, clinics and drugstores to remind the public that the grace period ends on 31 July.

My Number cards can be registered for health insurance at medical facility card readers, through the Mynaportal website or app, or at Seven Bank ATMs. The government introduced the system to digitise public services and cut administrative work. With a patient’s consent, doctors and pharmacists can view past prescriptions, health-check results and treatment records. The link also means people facing high-cost care no longer need to pay the entire bill first and then claim reimbursement later.

By the end of June, 103.9 million people held a My Number card, covering 83.4 percent of the population. Cards registered for insurance accounted for 68.15 percent of all medical claims filed in April. The change marks the final step in Japan’s move away from paper-based verification toward a fully digital health insurance framework.