If you or your wife/spouse is pregnant and legally reside in Japan, the cost for prenatal care is almost zero. Yes; the Japanese government will compensate almost every penny (or yen) you pay while getting prenatal care in Japan.
The exact total costs you will incur for prenatal care will depend on where you live, but for most people, prenatal care is very likely to be free. The only thing you have to do get free compensation is to make sure you register and inform your city hall that you are pregnant. Remember, you can only do this if you are legally registered in the city you live in.
What You Need?
In order to get free compensation, you will need proof from a Japanese obstetrician that you are pregnant, a legal unexpired document that states that you legally reside in Japan, and a bank account. (it’s a little similar to getting your driver’s license)
In most cases, after your second visit with your obgyn in Japan, your clinic or hospital will give you documents in which you will have to bring to your city hall to help you register for free care with your city.
When you register at the city hall, you will be given a packet full of goodies and lots of information about what to expect being pregnant in Japan. So if you have a hard time understanding Japanese, bring someone who can help translate.
Once everything is clear for you to receive compensation, every fee you pay for prenatal care from then will be taken care of by your city government! Just remember that you will have to provide them details to your Japanese bank account so your city can deposit the money straight to your account a month after every prenatal visit. You will also need your hanko to serve as your signature so don’t forget that as well!
Just remember that if you are a legal resident of Japan, all of this is easy to do, granted you can speak the Japanese language. More about this here.
How kind of Japan to offer this kind of financial support for parents to help boost the population!