Many expecting mothers in Japan struggle with the question of which OB-GYN to go with. In this article, we’ll try to help with that by giving you information on maternity clinics in Japan and tips on choosing the right hospital.
Obstetrics in Japan
After Confirming You’re Pregnant, Get a Boshitecho (Maternity Health Record Book)
Once you get a positive pregnancy test, confirm it at a hospital or clinic. With the results in hand, file a pregnancy notification (ninshin-todokedesho 妊娠届出書) at your local municipal office’s health center and receive a boshitecho (maternity health record book). All of this usually happens after the 5th-6th week of pregnancy, when it’s possible to detect a fetal heartbeat. The record book entitles you to financial assistance for prenatal checkups. These checks are usually conducted once a month for the duration of the pregnancy.
Schedule Your Delivery
Every hospital has different rules: some only allow you to schedule a delivery after the 32nd week of pregnancy, while others require you do it until the 12th week. What we can say for sure is that space at popular hospitals fills up fast, so you should start looking into which hospital you want to give birth at in the early stages of your pregnancy. Also, if you’re planning to give birth in a hospital different to the one where you received your prenatal checks, please inform them of it early on.
Japan Rarely Does Epidurals
In the west, painless labor using an epidural is the most popular, but Japan mainly does natural births. Because of that, a lot of hospitals aren’t equipped for epidurals, so if you’re interested in painless labor, you’ll need to start looking for the right hospital as early in your pregnancy as possible.
What Are the Open and Semi-Open Systems?
In an Open System, you receive prenatal exams from the early stages of your pregnancy until about the 36th week, and once you go into labor, the doctor from your prenatal medical facility meets you at a larger hospital and guides your birth from there. In a Semi-Open System, on the other hand, you receive prenatal checkups until the 32nd-36th week, and once you go into labor, the doctor at a larger hospital guides you through the birth. The systems have some big pluses, like being able to give birth at a bigger and better equipped hospital while also receiving checkups at less-crowded clinics closer to your home. In this article, some of the OB-GYN facilities that we’ll be introducing use those systems. To make sure what kind of system your hospital uses, please visit their official websites.
What is the JMIP Accreditation?
The Japan Medical Service Accreditation for International Patients (JMIP) system was designed to help foreigners receive healthcare in Japan by certifying hospitals that offer multi-language support or special services based on religious needs. There are 13 JMIP-accredited OB-GYN medical facilities in Tokyo. Most are large-scale, so to receive check-ups there, you’ll first need a referral from a smaller hospital or clinic.
However, there are also non-JMIP-accredited OB-GYN facilities that still offer multi-language support. We’ll now list all the ones in Tokyo below:
OB-GYN Facilities That Offer Multi-Language Support [Tokyo]
Central Tokyo
Chiyoda
• Kioicho Ladies Clinic
Languages: English, French
Website (Japanese): http://www.kioicho-lc.jp/
Website (English): http://www.obgyntokyo.jp/
Website (French): http://www.obgyntokyo.jp/fr/index.html
Minato
• Toranomon Hospital (JMIP-accredited)
Languages: English, Chinese
Website (Japanese): https://toranomon.kkr.or.jp/
• Saiseikai Central Hospital (JMIP-accredited)
Languages: English, Mandarin, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian
Website (Japanese): http://www.saichu.jp/
Website (English): https://www.saichu.jp/english/home/
Website (Chinese): https://www.saichu.jp/chinese/top-chinese/
• Akasaka-Mitsuke Miyazaki OB-GYN Clinic
Languages: English
Website (Japanese): http://www.akasakamitsuke-miyazakiclinic.com/index.html
Website (English): http://www.akasakamitsuke-miyazakiclinic.com/english.htm
• Hiroo Kanamori Clinic
Languages: English
Website (English): https://kanamori-clinic.com/
• Hiroo Minegishi OB-GYN Clinic
Languages: English
Website (Japanese): http://minegishi-obgyn.com/
Website (English): http://minegishi-obgyn.com/english.html
• Sanno Hospital
Languages: English
Website (Japanese): https://www.sannoclc.or.jp/hospital/
Website (English): https://www.sannoclc.or.jp/hospital/english/
• Kanda 2nd Clinic
Languages: English
Website (Japanese with English information): http://www.kanda2nd.com/
South Tokyo
Shinagawa
• NTT Medical Center Tokyo (JMIP-accredited)
Languages: English, Chinese
Website (Japanese): https://www.nmct.ntt-east.co.jp/
Website (English): https://www.nmct.ntt-east.co.jp/en/
Website (Chinese): https://www.nmct.ntt-east.co.jp/cn/
Ota
• Ebara Hospital
Languages: English, Chinese, Korean
Website (Japanese): http://www.ebara-hp.ota.tokyo.jp/
Website (English): http://www.ebara-hp.ota.tokyo.jp/en/index.html
Website (Chinese): http://www.ebara-hp.ota.tokyo.jp/cn/index.html
Website (Korean): http://www.ebara-hp.ota.tokyo.jp/kr/index.html
• Toho University Omori Medical Center
Languages: English
Website (Japanese): https://www.omori.med.toho-u.ac.jp/
Website (English): https://www.omori.med.toho-u.ac.jp/eng/index.html
Southwest Tokyo
Setagaya
• Nakano Clinic
Languages: English
Website (Japanese): https://www.nakano-iin.net/
• Yoga Ladies Clinic
Languages: English
Website (Japanese): http://www.11yoga-lady.com/
Website (English): http://hisada.11yoga-lady.com/
Shibuya
• Tokyo Metropolitan Hiroo Hospital (JMIP-accredited)
Languages: English, Mandarin
Website (Japanese): http://www.byouin.metro.tokyo.jp/hiroo/
Website (English): https://www.byouin.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/hiroo/english/index.html
Website (Chinese): https://www.byouin.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/hiroo/chinese/index.html
• Hiroo Ladies Clinic
Languages: English
Website (Japanese): https://www.hiroo-ladies.com/
Website (English): https://www.hiroo-ladies.com/s/english.html
West Tokyo
Shinjuku
• Center Hospital of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine
Languages: English, Chinese
Website (Japanese): http://www.ncgm.go.jp/
Website (English): http://www.ncgm.go.jp/en/index.html
• Hayashi Women’s Clinic Shin-okubo
Languages: English, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified)
Website (Japanese): http://hayashi-obgy.superplimo.com/
Suginami
• Kosei Hospital (JMIP-accredited)
Main Languages: English, Chinese
Website (Japanese): https://kosei-hp.or.jp/
Website (English): https://kosei-hp.or.jp/en/
Website (Chinese): https://kosei-hp.or.jp/ch/
Website (Korean): https://kosei-hp.or.jp/ko/
Northwest Tokyo
Toshima
• Nishi Ikebukuro Shu Clinic
Languages: English, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified)
Website (Japanese): http://www.syu-clinic.com/
Itabashi
• Toshima Hospital (JMIP-accredited)
Languages: English
Website (Japanese): http://www.toshima-hp.jp/
Website (English): http://www.toshima-hp.jp/english/
East Tokyo
Edogawa
• Tokyo Rinkai Hospital (JMIP-accredited)
Languages: English
Website (Japanese): http://www.tokyorinkai.jp
Website (English): http://www.tokyorinkai.jp/en/
Sumida
• Tokyo Metropolitan Bokutoh Hospital (JMIP-accredited)
Main Languages: English, Chinese
Website (Japanese): http://bokutoh-hp.metro.tokyo.jp/
Website (English): http://bokutoh-hp.metro.tokyo.jp/en/
Website (Chinese): http://bokutoh-hp.metro.tokyo.jp/ch/
Website (Korean): http://bokutoh-hp.metro.tokyo.jp/ko/
Outside the 23 Special Wards
• Tama Nambu Chiiki Hospital (JMIP-accredited)
Languages: English
Website (Japanese): http://www.tamanan-hp.com
Website (English): http://www.tamanan-hp.com/english/
• Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Medical Center
Languages: English, Chinese
Website (Japanese): http://www.fuchu-hp.fuchu.tokyo.jp/
Website (English): http://www.fuchu-hp.fuchu.tokyo.jp/en/
Website (Chinese): http://www.fuchu-hp.fuchu.tokyo.jp/zh/
Summary
It’s normal to feel nervous about giving birth abroad, which is why we have prepared this list of medical facilities that offer multi-language support. If you’re pregnant and live near any of them, consider getting prenatal checkups or giving birth there.
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The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication.
