Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Japan?
In 2026, Japan scores 56 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 38th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 19th to 48th allowing for scoring error, in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
The person has real controls inside a government or provider system. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is control over who sees it (62 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is your say over research use (50 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country).
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 October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
56/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 19th to 48th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 62 out of 100 in Japan; the typical country scores 40 to 45. 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. Source: e-Gov law text, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Japan?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in Japan. Control over who sees it scores 62 out of 100 in Japan; the typical country scores 30. 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. Source: Digital Agency, and the other sources below.
How does Japan compare?
In 2026, Japan scores 56 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with South Korea (60 out of 100), Thailand (52 out of 100) and Mongolia (50 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
62
66 · 50 · 60
Control over who sees it20%
62
55 · 50 · 47
Privacy and security15%
58
65 · 55 · 48
One record across your care15%
48
62 · 57 · 54
Protection from sale and ads10%
50
55 · 45 · 45
Doctors see it when treating you10%
52
58 · 50 · 47
Your say over research use5%
50
50 · 50 · 50
Rules for AI in your care5%
60
66 · 55 · 30
Black dot: Japan. Hollow dots: South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Japan 56 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a 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. Every right is at or above the typical country. The two with the most room to grow, weighted by how much each counts, are one record across your care (48 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country) and control over who sees it (62 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
Control over who sees it: A way to say no to sharing (or to be asked first), a log you can read of who opened your record, and finer choices about who sees what. Together these put this right at 60 to 80 out of 100.
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): 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.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
26.5 2022 · 36th highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
124 2022 · 9th highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
14.3% 2023 · 31st highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
February 18, 2025 · Nikkei xTECH Clinic says ransomware attack may have exposed up to 300,000 people's records
February 16, 2026 · INTERNET Watch (Impress) Hospital confirms attackers stole patient details through a maintenance VPN
Who to contact in Japan
Not legal advice. Laws, offices and websites can change, so check with the office itself before you rely on anything here.
For Japan, we list one official office to contact about your health record, as of :
See your record:マイナポータル (Mynaportal)
Privacy regulator:個人情報保護委員会 (Personal Information Protection Commission)
In 2026, Japan scored 56 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 38th of 198 countries and territories (could be 19th to 48th), in the Mixed band. Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/japan/
The 26 sources for Japan
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“Act on the Protection of Personal Information (Act No. 57 of 2003)”
e-Gov law text (law or regulation) · Title in English
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions 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™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. 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/japan/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
