Foreign tourists with unpaid medical bills in Japan to be denied entry

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during ministerial meeting meeting on foreign residents in Japan on Friday at the Prime Minister's Office. | JIJI

by KARIN KANEKO
Jun 6, 2025

The government on Friday revised its policy on foreign residents and visitors, which includes denying entry to foreign tourists who have failed to pay medical fees during visits to Japan and rejecting visa extensions for foreign nationals who fail to pay premiums for the national health care and pension system.

Details of when and how it will be implemented have yet to be hammered out.

The policy changes were made during a meeting of relevant ministers at the Prime Minister’s Office. Alongside an increasing number of foreign visitors to Japan, there have been growing calls for reform from politicians to address unpaid medical fees and health care premiums — deficits filled by taxpayers' money.