If you cannot understand Japanese, going to a hospital or clinic and trying to make sure you receive appropriate medical care might be one of the most difficult things you have to do during your time in Japan. Some doctors speak English, but fewer receptionists and nurses do. For that reason, many hospitals and clinics, especially local ones, ask patients who cannot speak Japanese to bring someone who can with them. However, many people are concerned about their privacy.

If you are well enough to go to an English speaking doctor (there are many in Tokyo), that might be your best option. If you are not, please print out and take the glossary of frequently used words below to your local clinic.

There are also multilingual medical questionnaire samples available at http://www.k-i-a.or.jp/medical/index.html (available in 14 languages: English, Cambodian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Indonesian, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese). You could print out the pages for the relevant medical department to take with you. The questionnaire forms differ at each hospital, but they are often very similar and you will probably find the samples helpful. Additionally, the ICO Room library has several books with medical glossaries and conversation samples available for lending.

Books in ICO Room

ICO Room on the Wako campus has a range of booklets for foreigners in Japan that you can borrow and take to the hospital:

• General guide for people visiting a hospital (Chinese, English, Farsi, Indonesian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai)
• Clinical conversations (English)
• Instructions for medication (Chinese, English, Farsi, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Russian, Tagalog, Thai)
• Multilingual dental clinic handbook (Bengali, Cambodian, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Indonesian, Korean, Laotian, Malay, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese)Also in ICO Room are several large reference books about family health in English.

Frequently used Japanese medical words

Other useful language resources

• http://di.mt-pharma.co.jp/foreign/index.html
  Several lists of vocabulary and phrases for use in hospitals, in Japanese and English, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Russian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Designed for hospital staff, and the top page and links are in Japanese only.
• AMDA International Medical Information Center
  Information in Chinese, English, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, and Thai.
• http://www.k-i-a.or.jp/medical/index.html
  Multilingual medical questionnaire samples, available in 14 languages: English, Cambodian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Indonesian, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese.