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Guide

Applying for a care-level certification in Kawasaki

To use long-term care insurance in Kawasaki City you first need a care-level certification. Here are the three ways to apply, the documents you need, how long a decision takes, and what happens next. Applying is free.

Who can apply

  • Residents aged 65 and over
  • Residents aged 40–64 who have one of the age-related conditions specified by law

Three ways to apply

  1. In person — at the Elderly and Disability Section (高齢・障害課) of your ward office
  2. By post — send the documents to your ward office
  3. Online — through the My Number Portal. You will need the signing PIN for your My Number card (the city's guidance page, in Japanese)

What you need

  • The application form
  • The long-term care insurance card
  • Health insurance card (applicants aged 40–64)
  • The name of the applicant's regular doctor and clinic
  • Proof of My Number

Note: the form was revised on 1 April 2026.

Download the form

The forms below are the city's own, and they are in Japanese only.

Printed copies are kept at the ward office counter, and the staff there will help you fill the form in.

If filing yourself is difficult

A Community Comprehensive Support Centre, a care management office, or a care facility can file on the applicant's behalf. Find the centre for your address.

What happens after you apply

  1. Assessment visit — a city assessor visits to record the applicant's physical and mental condition and daily living situation
  2. Doctor's report — the city asks the applicant's doctor for a written opinion
  3. Review board — a panel of medical, health and welfare professionals decides the care level
  4. Result — sent by post to the applicant, normally within 30 days of the application

There is no fee. The city pays for the assessment and the doctor's report.

If the result does not match reality

A level lighter than the real situation is not unusual. The person may have had a good day, or answered bravely. There are two routes.

Request a re-assessmentFormal appeal
Filed withThe city, at the ward officeThe Kanagawa review board
DeadlineAny timeThree months from learning the result
What happensA fresh assessment and a new decisionThe decision itself is examined

In practice, asking for a re-assessment is usually faster. Even a successful appeal ends in another assessment. If the condition has genuinely worsened, re-applying is the straighter road.

Making the next assessment reflect reality

  • Be there. People tend to answer that they manage
  • Describe the bad days. The assessment is meant to capture the usual state
  • Hand over written notes. What goes unsaid on the day still reaches the record
  • Night-time behaviour, incontinence, accusations of theft — things hard to say in front of the person can be passed on separately

After certification

  • Support level 1–2 — a Community Comprehensive Support Centre writes a prevention care plan
  • Care level 1–5 — a care manager writes the care plan for home or facility services
  • Not eligible — some applicants still qualify for preventive services via a basic checklist

Ward office contacts

区電話所在地
川崎区044-201-3282〒210-8570
川崎市川崎区東田町8番地
幸区044-556-6655〒212-8570
川崎市幸区戸手本町1丁目11番地1
中原区044-744-3179〒211-8570
川崎市中原区小杉町3丁目245番地
高津区044-861-3263〒213-8570
川崎市高津区下作延2丁目8番1号
宮前区044-856-3245〒216-8570
川崎市宮前区宮前平2丁目20番5号
多摩区044-935-3185〒214-8570
川崎市多摩区登戸1775番地1
麻生区044-965-5198〒215-8570
川崎市麻生区万福寺1丁目5番1号
Find your support centre Official page (Japanese)

Source: Kawasaki City · Last verified 2026-09-12. Rules change. Check the source page before you act on this. This is a plain-English summary of public information, not an official translation.

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