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Maina-Hokensho Rollout: System and Timeline

Maina-Hokensho is the My Number Card registered for health-insurance use, and it has replaced the old plastic insurance card as the standard qualification document.12 This article covers the system swap and its timeline; for the clinical side of using it at reception, the companion healthcare article walks through registration steps, consent screens, and fallback papers.1

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the MHLW site and the Digital Agency site. This article is general information, not insurance or tax advice; for a complex enrollment case, consult your insurer or a licensed tax accountant (zeirishi).

Overview​

The マイナ保険証 (maina hokenshō, "health-insurance-use-registered My Number Card") lets a clinic reader verify your insurance qualification instead of reading a plastic card.2 Nothing about copay ratios changes; only the proof mechanism does.1

Registration for health-insurance use is a one-time step.1 Once the card shows as registered, it keeps working across moves and job changes as long as enrollment with the new insurer is complete.1

From plastic card to card reader: how the system works​

The former plastic card was issued by each insurer and carried your insurance number on its face.2 The new mechanism queries qualification through the reader, so a job change or move no longer waits on a freshly printed card.1

Readers come from five manufacturers, so screens look different by clinic.3 The underlying sequence stays the same across models.3

What the reader checks​

The reader checks insurance qualification plus only the items you consent to share: past treatment, prescribed-drug information, and specified checkup results.1 Limit-info consent for high-cost care linked automatically without a separate input starting in October 2024.1

The card chip itself holds no tax, pension, or medical-history data.4 Information opens only after chip authentication plus face or PIN verification, and only for consented items.4

Phase-out timeline​

The phase-out ran as a dated sequence, not a single overnight switch. The event dates below are fixed, while usage figures carry their months because adoption kept moving.

New issuance stops, old cards expire​

New issuance of former plastic cards stopped on December 2, 2024.24 A job change, move, or insurer change after that date means reception through Maina-Hokensho or the Confirmation Form.2

Existing cards stayed valid until their printed expiry, at most until December 1, 2025.24 From December 2, 2025, they no longer work as insurance certificates.1

The transitional grace period and its end​

Clinics temporarily kept receiving patients who brought an expired former card at the normal copay ratio.25 That transitional measure ended on July 31, 2026 (as of 2026-07-27; confirm current handling with MHLW).5

From August 2026, bringing only an expired former card generally means temporary full payment with a later reimbursement claim to your insurer (as of 2026-07-27).5 Registrations reached 94.87 million people (as of 2026-06; confirm current figures with MHLW), and the share of examined patients using Maina-Hokensho was 69 percent (as of 2026-05).5

An expired plastic card no longer settles the bill at reception

The 2025 expiry plus the ended grace period closed the last fallback for plastic-only visits. Confirm your linked card or Confirmation Form before the appointment, not in the waiting room.52

Registration mechanics: three paths, one result​

Three first-time registration paths exist, and any one of them completes the job.12 Place the card on the face-recognition reader at a clinic or pharmacy and choose the register button, log in to MynaPortal and press Register on the health-insurance item, or use a Seven Bank ATM menu.123

The portal path needs the card plus the 4-digit PIN set at issuance.3 Status shows as Registered when complete, and that label means the card is ready for reception.3

Transition rules and adoption friction​

For the time being, people without a linked card receive the Eligibility Confirmation Form without applying.2 Linked-card holders who still want one apply through their own insurer instead.2

Documented friction includes reader failures, both face and PIN failing, power or system outages, and insurer-registration lag after job changes.4 Facility readiness still differs by clinic and pharmacy, and MHLW publishes a searchable facility list for before-you-go checks.2

Confirmation Form versus Information Notice​

The 資格確認書 (shikaku kakuninsho, "Eligibility Confirmation Form") is presented alone at reception like the former card.12 The mailed 資格情報のお知らせ (shikaku jōhō no oshirase, "Eligibility Information Notice") supports reception only together with the My Number Card and never alone.4

Official materials warn against confusing the two. If you carry one paper, make sure it is the Form.2

Job changes and insurer-registration lag​

After a job change the new insurer must register the new qualification.4 A Qualification-less display at reception usually means that insurer step is still pending, so contact the insurer rather than retrying the reader.4

Municipal foreign-resident guidance states the same rule in English with no nationality distinction: former-card issuance ended, reception now runs on the linked card or the Form at the same copay.6

Good to know​

Carry both during the transition if your insurer issued the form​

Bringing both the linked card and the Confirmation Form is explicitly allowed.2 The pair covers reader outages and registration lag in one pocket, which is the cheapest insurance against a wasted visit.2

The card body and the certificate expire separately​

The card body lasts to the 10th birthday after issuance (5th for minors) while the electronic certificate lasts to the 5th birthday after issuance.2 Even after a missed renewal, the card stays usable as a health-insurance certificate for 3 months after certificate expiry, though treatment and drug-info sharing stop.2

See also​

References​

Footnotes​

  1. Digital Agency. "Use of health insurance card in My Number Card" (English). Updated 2026-02-19. https://www.digital.go.jp/en/policies/mynumber/insurance-card ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  2. MHLW. マイナンバーカードの健康保険証利用（マイナ保険証）について. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_08277.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18 ↩19

  3. MHLW. My Number Card as your Health Insurance Certificate (English PDF). https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/12400000/001406614.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. Digital Agency. よくある質問：マイナンバーカードの健康保険証利用について. Updated 2025-03-04. https://www.digital.go.jp/policies/mynumber/faq-insurance-card ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  5. Jiji Press via Jiji.com. 期限切れ保険証、今月末で終了 マイナに完全移行へ. 2026-07-27. https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?g=soc&k=2026072700072 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  6. Nagoya International Center. Myna Health Insurance Card: about Health Insurance. 2025-02-14. https://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/living-in-nagoya/living-information/living_information/2025/02141010.html ↩