Health and Safety

Visiting the Doctor

When you go to the doctor, you will need both your resident ID card and your health insurance card. A check-up should cost about 1,500yen.

The Kanagawa International Foundation has created a very helpful set of forms with a list of possible symptoms you may be experiencing in both English and Japanese. If you check the appropriate boxes, most clinics should be willing to accept it rather than the standard Japanese form.

If you are looking for a clinic to visit, please contact Rumi at the board of education and she will be able to give you more detailed information about a clinic that will be convenient for you to visit.

Taking Sick-Leave

If you take time off work due to illness, it will automatically come out of your annual paid-leave (nenkyu) unless you provide a doctor’s certificate (shindansho). You can get a doctor's certificate if you are running a fever or have another condition which prevents you from coming into work. If you are taking multiple days off, make sure the doctor makes a note of this. A shindansho will cost you around 2,000yen.

Visiting the Dentist

There are many dental clinics in Yamagata. The one we recommend visiting, however, is Nire-No-Ki Dental Clinic, which is located about 15 minutes by bicycle from the city hall. Dr. Akiyoshi Aita is a phenomenal dentist and he is one of the friendliest doctors around. On top of that, he speaks English really well, so you don't have to worry about not understanding what's going on when you visit.   Below is a picture of the clinic with a link to google maps, as well as the address and contact information. If you need help making your first appointment, please ask Rumi to help you. Like the doctor's office, you will need to bring your national health ID card. Most visits to the dentist will cost about 1,500 - 3,000 yen depending on the procedure.

Street view of Nire-No-Ki Dental Clinic taken from Google maps. 

Contact information:
楡の木歯料歯科医院 (Nire no ki no ha-ryō shika iin)
山形県山形市宮町4-6-6 (Yamagata Shimiya cho 4-6-6)

tel: 023-615-6874

Earthquakes and Radiation

Okama Crater, located near Mt. Zao Ski Resort

Japan’s geographical location makes it home to numerous earthquakes every year. As you are probably well-aware, on March 11th, 2011 a magnitude 9.3 earthquake struck Japan. Although there was major damage on Japan's eastern coast and in some major cities, due to its location and strict building codes Yamagata City was spared from any major damages.

Today, there is still the occasional earthquake, but they are generally small and Yamagata remains a safe place to live and work. All schools hold disaster evacuation exercises every year and schools are specially reinforced for earthquake protection. If you've never experienced an earthquake and don’t know what to do in case of emergencies, there are plenty of resources at your disposal to learn and prepare with.

The Yamagata government continues to monitor the effects from the nuclear plant in Fukushima on Yamagata's air, soil, water and produce. Between 2012 and 2013, about 40,000 measurements of radiation levels were taken, demonstrating the government's commitment to public health and safety. As of a report dating, March 3, 2014, officials have "confirmed that the radiation level [in Yamagata] is safe." As for atmospheric radiation levels, according to measurements taken in September 2013, radiation levels in Yamagata were "recorded to be 0.08 µSv/h." The report concludes, "Compared with other large cities around the world, the level is not as high, and will not affect one’s health." (see Diagram A below).

Diagram A. Comparison to radiation levels recorded in other major cities.

Radiation measurements taken of tap water, tourist sites and agriculture and livestock were "confirmed safe". There is a protocol for the screening of agricultural produce and beef, whereby produce found to have unsafe levels of radiation is stopped from being distributed.

Finally, reports of the fallout condition of radiation, as measured through precipitation and snowfall, revealed some very promising results. As the report states, "The results of the 2013 measurements conclude that radiation remains at undetectable levels. In addition, there was no new radioactive particle movement detected."

Read the 2014 report, PDF (English)

For more information on radiation in Yamagata prefecture, click here (Japanese Only)