2023-09-23

(1) Overview of HIV treatment system for foreigners

1. ARV medicines are NOT free and is quite expensive.
2. One needs to apply government financial support and there are conditions.
3. Information on HIV and health system in general are not available in languages other than Japanese.

(2) Steps toward HIV treatment -For PLWH foreigners who are already diagnosed-

[Step 1] Register as resident at a local government office and obtain Residence Card. Foreigners without legal status or temporary visitors cannot register as residents.

[Step 2] Apply for Health Insurance either at
1) a workplace of oneself or of a family member
2) local government office National Insurance Department.

[Step 3] Treatment Guideline recommends starting ART soon after HIV infection is confirmed. On the other hand, to apply for medical fee subsidy, one needs to prepare 2 past blood test results where CD4 count is below 500 and/or viral lord RNA is above 5000 copies. A referral letter from a doctor is also necessary.

[Step 4] Contact NGO if one does not speak Japanese to find a hospital and make an initial contact. CHARM can contact other NGOs through the network and can be initial contact.

[Step 5] CHARM offers medical interpretation service or accompaniment upon request.

(3) Obstacles PLWH foreigners might face

1. Medial information is not always available in a language one can understand. Thus, it is difficult to find an NGO, hospitals specializing in HIV and other services.

2. PLWHs who had started medication abroad may not have data required to apply for public support for medical fee. The data required includes blood test results where CD4 count is below 500 and/or viral lord RNA is above 5000 copies

3. Front line workers at hospitals such as receptionists generally do not speak foreign languages. Referrals from a doctor or support from NGO are necessary.

(4) HIV medicines commonly used

Generic Name / Strength

Trade Name

1) BIC/TAF/FTC
2) DTG/ABC/3TC
3) DTG/3TC

BIKTARVY Combination Tablets
Triumeq Combination Tablets
Dovato Combination Tablets

(5) Support organization for PLWH

Organization name: Center for Health and Rights of Migrants(CHARM)
Contact person: Yukino Tsuda
E-mail: Inquiry20@charmjapan.com

本系統已提升網路傳輸加密等級，IE8及以下版本將無法支援。為維護網路交易安全性，請升級或更換至右列其他瀏覽器。