Yes. Every nurse we send holds a Japanese national nursing licence — either a registered nurse (seikangoshi) or a licensed practical nurse (junkangoshi). More than 900 nurses are registered with us.

Some do, and we assign them on request. More than ten of our nurses are comfortable working in English, and more than five in Mandarin. We also have nurses who speak Indonesian and French. Please tell us your preferred language when you first write, and we will confirm availability for your dates before you commit to anything. We will not tell you a nurse speaks English if she does not.

No. Minkaan is not a medical institution and we do not employ doctors. Our nurses do not diagnose and do not prescribe. Any medical procedure is carried out strictly within the instructions of your own physician or with the written consent of your family — suctioning, oxygen, tube feeding and IV management are all possible under those conditions. What our nurses do without instruction is observe, judge, and act: the part that matters most in the first ten minutes.

Please read this before you book — it is the most common misunderstanding. A prescription or care plan written by a physician outside Japan is not a valid instruction for a Japanese nurse. Under Japanese law, nursing acts that assist medical treatment require written instruction from a physician licensed in Japan. This applies to medication management, and to procedures such as suctioning, oxygen and tube feeding. Without a Japanese physician's instruction, your nurse can still observe, record, escort, assist with daily living and act in an emergency. If medication is part of what you need, please consult us in advance so we can tell you what is possible for your dates.

Your nurse calls 119, the Japanese emergency number, and speaks to the crew in Japanese. She gives them your history, your medications and what she has observed — in clinical Japanese, at the speed they need. She rides with you to the hospital and stays to interpret. This is the single thing that is hardest to arrange after something has already gone wrong.How much does it cost?

Two rates, one nurse. The same licensed nurse provides both; only the rate changes. Personal care — companionship, mobility assistance, help with meals and toileting, escorting you out — is ¥6,000 per hour (tax included) daytime, ¥7,000 at night. Nursing, meaning care involving medical procedures under a Japanese physician's written instruction, is ¥10,000 daytime and ¥12,000 at night. Three-hour minimum, so a booking starts at ¥18,000. Time is billed in 30-minute units and any part of a unit is charged in full. Requesting a specific nurse by name adds ¥2,000 per hour. The vehicle, charged separately. Driver included. Alphard ¥16,500 per hour, New Hiace ¥15,000, Hiace ¥12,000, Caravan ¥10,000 — five-hour minimum. A package rate applies when you book a vehicle together with a nurse, and it is quoted in your estimate. Tolls and parking are charged as incurred. As a real figure: a full day out with a nurse and an Alphard, about ten and a half hours, comes to roughly ¥240,000 (tax included). The New Year period (29 December to 3 January) is charged at a different rate. A membership fee of ¥110,000 (tax included) applies to ongoing bookings. It covers the planning, assessment and nurse selection carried out before the service begins, and does not apply to the one-day trial, which starts at ¥8,800 per hour. Payment is by bank transfer or credit card — in advance for your first booking, and on account thereafter. Estimates are free.

Usually not. Because we are not a medical institution, most travel policies treat this as a personal service rather than medical treatment. We will issue itemized receipts and you are welcome to submit them, but please assume this is an out-of-pocket cost and check with your insurer before you travel. We would rather tell you this now than after you have paid.

Yes, in our Toyota Hiace. It takes a wheelchair or a stretcher directly, with no transfer out of the chair. Our Toyota Alphard is a comfortable saloon for clients who can walk, or who can transfer into a seat with the folded wheelchair stowed. It cannot take a wheelchair with the person still in it. Tell us which applies and we will send the right vehicle. A dedicated driver handles the vehicle either way, so the nurse never has to divide her attention between the road and you.

Book ahead if you can — it is the only way to guarantee a nurse in your language. That said, with more than 900 nurses on our register we can often place a request the same day or the next. Write to us even if it is short notice.

We are based in Tokyo and work throughout Japan. Our nurses have accompanied clients by shinkansen, plane and ferry, to Kyoto, Osaka and Hokkaido. Overseas travel is by consultation.

Please write to us in English by email or LINE. Our coordinator handles all international enquiries in writing, which means nothing is lost across the time difference and everything is on record. Our telephone line is answered in Japanese only.