This page is general information from official sources. It is not legal or financial advice. Whether your child qualifies is decided by your city. Ask the city office listed for your city.
Under Japanese health insurance, you pay part of a doctor’s bill: 20% for preschool children and 30% from elementary school, as Shunan City and Hikari City explain. In Yamaguchi Prefecture, each city pays some or all of that share for children. This guide compares the 13 cities in the prefecture for the 2026 school year (April 2026 to March 2027).
In short
- Your city gives you a medical expense certificate for your child (福祉医療費受給者証, fukushi iryohi jukyushasho). Show it with your health insurance at the clinic.
- In 10 of the 13 cities, insured care is free at the counter until the March 31 after your child turns 18.
- Hagi City also covers children to 18, but from elementary school you pay up to ¥1,000 a month per clinic (¥2,000 for a hospital stay).
- Iwakuni City and Sanyo-Onoda City cover children through junior high school.
- After a birth or a move, apply quickly. If you apply late, help usually starts only from the month you apply.
Checked with official pages on October 5, 2026.
1. How does it work?
Yamaguchi Prefecture
The certificate is part of a welfare medical expense system (福祉医療費助成制度) that Yamaguchi Prefecture runs together with its cities and towns. Help for preschool children is the shared part. Each city adds its own help for older children, so the ages and rules differ by city.
- Who can get it: a child who has a resident record in the city and is in a Japanese public health insurance plan. In most cities, children on public assistance (welfare) are not covered by it.
- What it covers: your share of care that health insurance covers, such as clinic visits, hospital stays and medicine.
- What it does not cover: meals during a hospital stay, check-ups, vaccinations, a private room, and anything health insurance does not cover.
- Where it works: at hospitals, clinics and pharmacies in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Note
The 18-year limit means the March 31 after your child’s 18th birthday. That is usually the end of the third year of high school. “Junior high” means the March 31 after the 15th birthday.
2. What does each city cover?
All 13 cities cover children from birth. The table shows how long, and what you pay at the counter for insured care.
| City | Until | You pay at the counter | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shimonoseki | Age 18 | Nothing | 083-231-1928 |
| Yamaguchi | Age 18 | Nothing | 083-934-2803 |
| Ube | Age 18 | Nothing | 0836-34-8330 |
| Shunan | Age 18 | Nothing | 0834-22-8460 |
| Hofu | Age 18 | Nothing | 0835-25-2348 |
| Kudamatsu | Age 18 | Nothing | 0833-45-1836 |
| Hikari | Age 18 | Nothing | 0833-74-3009 |
| Nagato | Age 18 | Nothing | 0837-23-1187 |
| Yanai | Age 18 | Nothing | 0820-22-2111 (ext. 324) |
| Mine | Age 18 | Nothing | 0837-52-5228 |
| Hagi | Age 18 | Preschool: nothing. From elementary school: ¥1,000 a month per clinic, ¥2,000 per hospital stay | 0838-25-3259 |
| Iwakuni | Junior high | Nothing | 0827-29-5074 |
| Sanyo-Onoda | Junior high | Nothing | 0836-82-1175 |
“Age 18” means until the March 31 after the 18th birthday. “Nothing” means nothing for care that health insurance covers, at places in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The six towns in the prefecture are not in this table. If you live in a town, ask the town office.
- Hagi City: pharmacies do not charge the ¥1,000. Hagi City has an income limit for high school-age children only. The parents’ combined municipal income tax (before tax credits) must be ¥136,700 or less. Through junior high, there is no income limit (Hagi City).
- Older teens: Nagato, Yanai, Mine, Hagi and Hofu say a teen who has left a parent’s health insurance because of a job or marriage is generally not covered. Shimonoseki City covers young people of high school age who are working.
- Big hospitals without a referral: Iwakuni, Hikari and Shunan say the extra fee for seeing a large hospital without a referral letter (選定療養費, sentei ryoyohi) is not covered. Iwakuni City names Iwakuni Clinical Center and other hospitals with 200 beds or more, including at night and on holidays.
3. How do I apply after a birth or a move?
You must apply. Help usually starts from the first day of the month you apply, so a late application can cost you money. Yanai City says that if you do not apply, you do not get help, even if your child qualifies.
- After a birth: most cities say that if you apply within 60 days of the birth, help starts from the date of birth.
- After a move: each city has its own deadline to get help from the day you moved in.
| City | Apply after moving in, to be covered from that day |
|---|---|
| Shimonoseki | In the same month (preschool children) |
| Yamaguchi | Within 14 days, or by the end of the month you moved in |
| Ube | In the same month |
| Shunan | Within 14 days |
| Hofu | In the same month (preschool). School-age: from the month your application is complete |
| Kudamatsu | Within 14 days |
| Hikari | Within 15 days, counting from the day after you moved in |
| Nagato | In the same month (preschool children) |
| Iwakuni | From the month you apply |
| Sanyo-Onoda | In the same month |
For Yanai, Mine and Hagi, the pages do not give a move-in rule. Ask the city. Where a city covers only preschool children with the move-in rule, ask about school-age children too.
- Register your address at the city office first. The certificate is for children with a resident record in that city.
- Bring proof of your child’s health insurance. This can be My Number Card health insurance information, a Certificate of Eligibility (資格確認書) or the insurance information notice (資格情報のお知らせ).
- Bring ID for the parent applying. Some cities, such as Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi and Mine, also ask for both parents’ My Number.
- If you moved from another city, you may need the parents’ income certificate (所得課税証明書). For preschool children, cities check the prefecture’s income rule even when the city has no income limit. Some cities can check it with your My Number Card instead.
- Submit the form at the children’s or health insurance counter. Yamaguchi, Ube, Kudamatsu and Sanyo-Onoda also take online applications. Ube, Hikari, Yanai and Sanyo-Onoda also take applications by post.
Tip
Iwakuni City’s page for preschool children says that if a parent is a foreign national working on the U.S. base, the city uses the parent’s Wage and Tax Statement (W-2) for the income check.
4. What if I see a doctor outside Yamaguchi Prefecture?
The certificate cannot be used outside the prefecture. Pay your share at the counter, keep the receipt, and apply to your city for a refund. You also apply for a refund if you forgot to show the certificate. Kudamatsu City says that if you forgot it, the clinic may refund you if you go back in the same month.
5. Common questions
Do I need to renew the certificate every year?
Usually not. Most cities renew it automatically and post a new one in late July, valid from August 1. Shimonoseki City renews certificates for school-age children at the end of March. If the city cannot check your income, for example because you moved in recently or did not file an income report, you may need to apply.
My child was hurt at school or nursery. Can I use the certificate?
No, in most cases. Injuries at school, nursery or kindergarten are covered by the Japan Sport Council’s school accident insurance (災害共済給付). Pay at the clinic, and the school or nursery helps you claim. Shimonoseki City says that if the school insurance does not cover it, you can then apply to the city.
Can I use it after a traffic accident?
Shimonoseki City says you generally cannot, when another person caused the injury. If you report it to the city as an injury caused by a third party, you can use the certificate. If you later get compensation, you must pay back the city’s share.
What do I do when we move out?
Return the certificate to the city. Hofu City says that if you use it after you move out, you must pay back the full amount. Ask your new city about its own system.
Sources (checked October 2026)
- Yamaguchi Prefecture: Welfare medical expense system
- Shimonoseki City: Preschool children, elementary and junior high and high school age
- Yamaguchi City: Preschool children and school-age children
- Ube City: Child medical expenses
- Shunan City: Child medical expenses
- Hofu City: Welfare medical expenses and school-age children
- Kudamatsu City: Preschool children and school-age children
- Hikari City: Child medical expenses
- Nagato City: Preschool children and school-age children
- Yanai City: Preschool children and school-age children
- Mine City (Tsubomi Net): Child medical expenses
- Hagi City: Child medical expenses and guide (PDF)
- Iwakuni City: Preschool children and elementary and junior high
- Sanyo-Onoda City: Preschool children and elementary and junior high
