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Guide

Types of residential care, and how to choose

Special nursing homes, geriatric health facilities, group homes and fee-based homes. Four names that are hard to tell apart, set side by side by who they take, what they are for, how long a stay lasts and where to apply — with what the monthly bill is actually made of.

Which one to look at first

Circumstances overlap, so this is not a decision tree — it is a starting point.

The four side by side

Type Who it is for What it is for How long Applying In this city
Special nursing home (tokuyo) Kaigo rojin fukushi shisetsu Care Level 3–5 as a rule Support Levels 1–2 cannot use it. New residents at Care Level 1–2 are admitted only where there is an unavoidable reason. A home for people who need care at all times No time limit The city’s central application desk 67 places
Geriatric health services facility (roken) Kaigo rojin hoken shisetsu Care Level 1–5 Support Levels 1–2 cannot use it. Rehabilitation aimed at returning home A temporary stay Each facility directly 20 places
Group home Ninchisho taioh-gata kyodo seikatsu kaigo Support Level 2 and above, with dementia Support Level 1 cannot use it. The service is specifically for people with dementia. Living together in a small household No time limit Each facility directly 135 places
Fee-based homes and similar Tokutei shisetsu nyukyosha seikatsu kaigo Support Level 1 to Care Level 5 Of the four, this is the only one open from Support Level 1. Housing and care together No time limit Each facility directly 112 places
  • Special nursing home (tokuyo)… Publicly run, so costs are lower — which is why there is a queue.
  • Geriatric health services facility (roken)… A doctor is on staff, and the medical and rehabilitation cover is stronger than elsewhere.
  • Group home… Five to nine residents per household. It is a community-based service, so as a rule it is for residents of that city.
  • Fee-based homes and similar… Mostly privately run, with a wide range of cost and facilities. The residency fee is charged separately.

The facility lists are in Japanese.

What the bill is made of

People arrive expecting to pay 10%. That applies to one of these four lines only.

Long-term care insurance applies

Care service fee

Insurance covers 70–90%. You pay 10–30%, by your co-payment rate.

Paid in full by the resident

Accommodation

The room. Varies by whether it is shared or a private unit.

Meals

Charged separately from the care itself.

Daily living costs

Laundry, toiletries, haircuts, incontinence products and so on.

There is relief for two of them

Income and savings can bring meals and accommodation down — that is exactly what the reduced-charge certificate is for. It has to be applied for; nothing happens automatically.

Schemes that reduce what you pay

No figures here on purpose: they differ by room type and facility, and they are revised. What does not change is which line the insurance reaches.

When living at home stops working

All four provide care where the person lives. What differs is what each one exists to do — and because of that, who may enter, how long they may stay, and where the application goes.

Asking first is usually faster than visiting

Which type suits depends on the person's condition and on the family's situation together. Before touring facilities, a community support centre can narrow the field for you. Asking is free.

The descriptions here follow the service explanations published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which is also the source of the facility data on this site. No cost estimates are given: they vary by room type, by facility and by income. The facility lists are in Japanese.

Find your support centre Official page (Japanese)

Source: the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare · 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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