Kawasaki City, Kanagawa
Long-term care in Kawasaki City, explained in English.
If someone in your household needs care, the first place to ask is the Community Comprehensive Support Centre assigned to your neighbourhood. There are 49 in the city, and which one covers you depends on your town — sometimes on your chome.
FIND
Find your support centre
In Japan, the Community Comprehensive Support Centre for your neighbourhood is the first place to ask about long-term care. Enter your town name to find yours.
Some towns are split between centres by chome (block number). Please check your chome.
ABOUT
What these centres do
A Community Comprehensive Support Centre is a public consultation desk commissioned by the city. It is free to use, and you do not need a care certification to visit.
FLOW
What happens when care is needed
From asking for the first time to services starting. The result takes up to 30 days, so it is fine to ask while you are still unsure.
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Ask someone first
The first place to ask is the Community Comprehensive Support Centre. Which one serves you is decided by your town — sometimes by your chome. You do not need to know what you want yet.
Free of charge No appointment needed
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Apply for a care-level certification
Apply at the Elderly and Disability Division of your ward office. You can apply at the counter, by post, or online. If neither the person nor the family can go, a Community Comprehensive Support Centre or a care management office can apply on their behalf.
Applying is free Bring the insurance card
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The assessment
Two things happen at the same time here.
Assessment visit
A city assessor visits the home and asks about daily life and physical and mental condition.
Doctor's written opinion
The family doctor writes it. The city requests it directly, so you do not have to arrange it.
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Review and decision
A review board of medical, health and welfare professionals decides, based on the assessment and the doctor’s opinion. Nothing is required from you during this time.
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The result arrives
It is sent by post, normally within 30 days of the application.
Support Level 1–2 Care Level 1–5 Not eligible
If you disagree with the result, you can ask the city to review it or apply for a change of level.
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A care plan is written
It sets out which services to use and how much. For Support Levels the Community Comprehensive Support Centre writes it; for Care Levels a care manager does.
No charge for writing the plan
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Services begin
Home helpers, day services, equipment rental and so on. You pay 10–30% of the cost, depending on income.
PURPOSE
Start from where you are
Care in Japan moves through stages: asking someone, getting certified, choosing services, then a facility. Pick the stage you are at.
DEMENTIA
If you think it might be dementia
Where to ask, how to get seen, and what to do after a diagnosis. You can ask before there is any diagnosis. People often refuse to see a doctor, so the desk to contact in Kawasaki City is included.
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If you start to wonder
It is usually the family, not the person, who notices first. Ordinary ageing and dementia differ like this.
Ordinary ageing
Part of an experience is forgotten. The person knows they forgot.
Dementia
The whole experience drops out. The person often does not notice that anything is missing.
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Ask your family doctor, or a support centre
If something seems different, start with the family doctor. If there is no family doctor, the Community Comprehensive Support Centre is the place to ask. Either order is fine.
Asking is free No diagnosis needed to ask
When the person refuses to see a doctor
This happens often, so it is not a dead end.Kawasaki City has the Dementia Home Visit Support Team.
A team of doctors, nurses, care managers and support centre staff visits the person and the family at home. It is for residents aged 40 and over who have not yet been diagnosed, or who are not connected to any service.
If you would rather talk on the phone
Dementia Call Centre “Support Hotto” 044-200-3939
Answered by people who have cared for someone with dementia, and by social workers. A specialist doctor takes calls on the 4th Tuesday morning (by appointment). The line is in Japanese.
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See a specialist
Usually on referral from the family doctor: a memory clinic, neurology or psychiatry department.
Kawasaki Dementia Medical Centre — Kawasaki Municipal Hospital (Kawasaki Ward, 044-233-5521) and the Machigurumi Dementia Consultation Centre at Nippon Medical School Musashi-Kosugi Hospital (Nakahara Ward).
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Get a diagnosis
An interview, cognitive tests and imaging.
Dementia has several underlying causes, and treatment differs by cause. Identifying the cause is what the rest of the plan rests on.
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Apply for a care-level certification
Long-term care insurance requires a certification. People aged 40–64 can apply too if the cause is early-onset dementia (it counts as a specified disease).
The result normally takes up to 30 days, so applying as soon as the diagnosis is made shortens the wait.
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Do not carry it alone
Dementia cafes, family groups and phone lines exist for the people doing the caring. Talking to someone in the same situation often makes the road ahead clearer. Kawasaki City publishes the Kawasaki Dementia Action Guidebook (care pathway).
Sources：Dementia information (Kawasaki City)／Home visit support／Dementia call centre／Dementia medical centre Last verified：2026-09-12
DRIVING
A diagnosis does not cancel a licence
Giving up driving often comes up at the same time as a diagnosis, so it is worth saying plainly: a dementia diagnosis does not by itself cancel a driving licence, and a family cannot surrender one on someone else’s behalf. Surrendering is an application the driver makes themselves.
What it is called
Formally, an application to cancel a driving licence. It is done at a driving licence centre or at any police station in the prefecture except Yokohama Water Police. No appointment is needed, and the licence itself must be brought.
Ask for the driving history certificate
Issued on request to people who surrender, it certifies five years of driving history and is valid identification at banks. Handing in a licence removes a common form of ID, so this matters. It is ready about a month later.
Sort out the travelling first
Shopping, appointments, seeing people. When the licence goes before the alternative is in place, people stop going out. Put the alternative in place first, then have the conversation.
FAQ
Common first questions
The places people most often get stuck at the start.
Q Where do I ask about care in the first place?
The Community Comprehensive Support Centre for your neighbourhood. Kawasaki City has 49 of them, and which one serves you is decided by your town. You can look yours up by town name on this site.
Q Does asking cost anything?
No. Asking a support centre is free, and you do not need to hold a care-level certification to use it. "It is not really care yet, but something feels different" is a perfectly normal reason to call.
Q How long does the care-level certification take?
Normally the result is posted to the person within 30 days of the application. In between there is an assessment visit and a written opinion from the family doctor, and then a review board decides. Applying is free.
Q What if neither the person nor the family can go and apply?
A support centre, a care management office or a care insurance facility can file the application on their behalf. Ask the support centre for your area first.
Q Can two addresses in the same town have different centres?
Yes. In Kawasaki City, 17 towns are split by chome between different support centres (京町, 富士見, 小田, 古市場, 小倉, 宿河原). Check your chome, not just the town name.
Q Can I see vacancies or prices for a facility?
Not on this site. The provider data comes from national open data that is published twice a year, so anything that changes often — vacancies, fees — cannot be shown accurately. Contact the provider directly for that.
DATA
What this site covers
| Data | Records | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Care providers | 969 | MHLW open data (CC BY 4.0) |
| Support centres | 49 | Kawasaki City district assignments |
| Towns mapped to a centre | 250 | Same |
| Wards covered | 7 | — |
Provider listings are in Japanese only, because the source data and the facility names exist only in Japanese. The guidance pages are available in both languages. This site explains public information in plain English; it is not an official translation.