Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of 2026-10-02
Who holds the health record in Japan?
In 2026, Japan scores 56 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record: rank 38= of 198 countries (likely range 19 to 48), in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: Shared. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of 2026-10-02.
The person has real controls inside a state or provider system. Its strongest right against the other countries is patient control and consent (62, against a median of 30 across 198 countries); no right falls below the median, and the closest to it is research and trial consent (50, median 46).
Japanese patients see five years of claims-based records online and choose at each visit what doctors see, but full charts stay with each provider.
Published · updated · this country's data as of 2026-10-02 · research tool, not legal advice
56overall, of 100 · Mixed
38=rank of 198
Sharedwho holds the keys
highconfidence
91 · Platinumevidence grade (DTI)
Can I get my health records in Japan?
Access to the full record scores 62 of 100 in Japan, against a median of 43 across 198 countries. The privacy law gives a right to a copy, electronic on request, and Mynaportal shows five years of claims-based treatment and medicine data. The law sets no fixed deadline and allows fees, so full charts still come provider by provider.
Can I control who sees my health record in Japan?
Control and consent scores 62 of 100 in Japan, against a median of 30 across 198 countries. At each visit the patient chooses, item by item, whether the clinic may see past treatment, medicine and checkup data, and Mynaportal lists who received it. Hospital viewing without consent in emergencies, even for conscious patients, keeps the score low in its band.
Eight rights, against South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia and the EU
Patient access to the full record20%
62
66 · 50 · 60
Patient control and consent20%
62
55 · 50 · 47
Privacy and security15%
58
65 · 55 · 48
Connected care journey15%
48
62 · 57 · 54
Protection from commercial use10%
50
55 · 45 · 45
Clinician access at the point of care10%
52
58 · 50 · 47
Research and trial consent5%
50
50 · 50 · 50
Clinical AI governance5%
60
66 · 55 · 30
Black dot: Japan. Hollow dots: South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia (scores on the right, same order). Grey line: median of all 198 countries. Dashed teal line: EU median. Overall: Japan 56, EU median 61. Scores move in steps of about 5; read the rank with its likely range.
What would Japan need to change to score higher?
Japan sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. The two rights furthest below the 198-country median, weighted, are research and trial consent (50, median 46) and protection from commercial use (50, median 45). The published rubric reads:
Research and trial consent: A general opt-out that is honoured, or dynamic or opt-in consent, with a public register of research uses: 55 to 85.
Protection from commercial use: Clear limits on selling health data or using it for marketing, covering apps and data brokers as well as providers.
Which laws give health record rights in Japan?
Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) (2003): Medical history is special care-required data; consent for sharing, breach reports, right to an electronic copy.
Act amending the APPI (2026) (2026): Consent-free sharing for statistics and AI development; profit-based surcharges; in force within two years.
Act on Anonymized and Pseudonymized Medical Data for Medical R&D (2017): Hospitals pass data to certified operators after notice, stopping on request; re-identification prohibited.
Strain and split context, not scored
Doctors per 10,000
26.5 2022 · OECD 36 of 38
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
124 2022 · OECD 9 of 38
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
14.3% 2023 · OECD 31 of 35
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Published stories
2025-02-18 · Nikkei xTECH Clinic says ransomware attack may have exposed up to 300,000 people's records
2026-02-16 · INTERNET Watch (Impress) Hospital confirms attackers stole patient details through a maintenance VPN
In 2026, Japan scored 56 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record, rank 38= of 198 countries (likely range 19 to 48) (Mixed; who holds the keys: Shared). Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of 2026-10-02, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/JPN/
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Questions, corrections or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI: SuperTruth's Data Trust Index, grading the evidence behind each score. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/JPN/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Text and scores CC BY 4.0.
