Key points
- Tokyo had 15,595 general clinics, 10,488 dental clinics and 621 hospitals at the end of July 2026, the largest clinic market of any prefecture in Japan.1
- Tokyo had 48,578 doctors at the end of 2022, 346.0 per 100,000 people against 274.7 for Japan.9
- MHLW's safety guideline, revised in June 2026, requires a clinic that stores medical information outside to keep the storage equipment within reach of Japanese law and to tell patients in advance.3
- Japan's national EHR sharing service is set to open nationwide around winter of fiscal 2026, and the amended APPI promulgated on 17 July 2026 takes effect within two years.64
- 783,701 foreign residents lived in Tokyo on 1 January 2026, and Japan received 42,683,600 visitors in 2025, so Tokyo clinics see patients from far beyond Japan.27
Summary
A Tokyo clinic can use AI for notes and patient messages when stored medical information stays within reach of Japanese law, patients are told where their data is kept, and a doctor signs every clinical document. In wai the AI drafts and the reception team approves.
A Tokyo clinic on wai has the referral letter signed before the patient reaches the pharmacy and the evening's enquiries answered before the morning rush. Japan's medical DX programme is building a national record that shares those letters, and the rules a Tokyo clinic works under are set out below.
Part of the MHLW hub, with the framework explained, a readiness checklist and 7 guides.
See it in your clinicThirty minutes on your own patients and doctors.
Request a demoSee a Tokyo clinic's missed calls turned into drafted replies the team approves, and a referral letter signed before the patient leaves, in fifteen minutes.
| Body or law | Rule | What to check | How wai meets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| MHLW safety guideline for medical information systems, June 2026 | Outside storage within reach of Japanese law, with patients told in advance | The country of the storage equipment, and any foreign law over it | Records hosted in the clinic's own country, set up with each clinic |
| APPI, Personal Information Protection Commission | Amended law promulgated 17 July 2026, in force within two years | Support for the amended rules | Every message, draft, approval and signature is logged and exportable |
| EHR information sharing service, MHLW | Nationwide use targeted around winter of fiscal 2026 | When the record supports the final technical guide | Built to connect, set up with each clinic |
| Tokyo Metropolitan Government, outpatient plan | Six months' notice for new bedless clinics in designated surplus areas | Whether the planned site is in a designated area | Plan the opening date with the prefecture |
| Medical practice, MHLW licence | The doctor is responsible for every clinical record | A named doctor signs each note and letter | AI drafts, the doctor reviews and signs |
The private care market in Tokyo
MHLW's monthly survey of medical facilities counted 15,595 general clinics in Tokyo at the end of July 2026, out of 105,702 in Japan, along with 10,488 dental clinics and 621 hospitals.1 Of Japan's general clinics, 100,704 have no beds, so most of the work is outpatient visits, phone calls and paperwork.1 Tokyo had 48,578 doctors at the end of 2022, or 346.0 per 100,000 people against 274.7 nationally.9
Since 1 April 2026, a doctor opening a clinic without beds in a designated outpatient-surplus area must notify the prefecture six months before opening, and in April 2026 the Tokyo Metropolitan Government was still deciding which areas to designate.5 Growth for an existing clinic comes from serving more patients with the same team.
The rules a clinic in Tokyo works under
MHLW sets national health policy, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Bureau of Public Health runs regional care planning for the city.5 Personal data is governed by the APPI, supervised by the Personal Information Protection Commission. The amended APPI was promulgated on 17 July 2026 and takes effect on a date set by cabinet order within two years.4
Storage is set by MHLW's safety guideline for medical information systems. When a clinic stores medical information with an outside provider, it must make sure the storage equipment is within the reach of Japanese law, check the country where it sits and whether foreign law applies to the provider, and explain the arrangement and its risks to patients in advance, for example by a notice in the clinic.3
The national record is the EHR information sharing service, which carries referral letters, discharge summaries and key clinical items. MHLW aims to make it usable nationwide around winter of fiscal 2026, and clinics can join once their record supports the final technical guide.6 wai is built to connect to Japan's national EHR information sharing service. We set up your clinic's connection with you.
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic. wai is compliant with these rules and built for clinics in Tokyo. A person at the clinic reviews and sends every reply, and nothing clinical leaves until the doctor signs.
The languages Tokyo patients bring
On 1 January 2026, Tokyo had 783,701 foreign residents.2 The largest groups were from China with 299,831, Korea with 90,766, Nepal with 63,281 and Vietnam with 57,340.2 Japan also received 42,683,600 visitors in 2025, a record.7
wai works in any language.8 Bring a week of enquiries from residents and visitors to the demo and read each draft before it would go.
What a demo shows in Tokyo
A call missed during the lunch break becomes a drafted text the receptionist approves in one tap. An email from a visitor asking for an appointment tomorrow shows the open times, found from the doctors' busy times in Google Calendar or Outlook, with a slot held and a reply waiting for approval.
In the consultation room, the note is drafted while the doctor talks and the referral letter, the document the national sharing service carries, is ready to sign before the next patient. Booking on the clinic's own website takes a deposit in yen through the clinic's own Stripe account, and wai's prices are on the pricing page.
For hospital groups and health insurers in Tokyo
A Tokyo hospital group or health insurer can have wai set up around one defined pathway, with data rights and exit terms in the contract and the clinician signing every note. Read the organisations page for how it starts.
Where to start
First, get in writing where the storage equipment sits and whether foreign law applies to it, as the MHLW guideline requires you to check.3 Second, draft the patient notice on outside storage for the waiting room and the website.
Third, put the EHR sharing service on the agenda for your next record renewal.6 Fourth, bring a week of calls, emails and web enquiries to a fifteen-minute demo, then pilot with one doctor and the reception desk for a month. The data residency guide has the contract questions.
Bring a week of your own calls, emails and web enquiries. We show the drafts, the approvals and where your records would be hosted.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Tokyo clinic store patient records with a cloud AI provider?
Yes, if the storage equipment is within the reach of Japanese law, the clinic checks the provider's location and exposure to foreign law, and patients are told in advance.3
When does the amended APPI take effect?
It was promulgated on 17 July 2026 and takes effect, with some exceptions, on a date set by cabinet order within two years.4
When can a Tokyo clinic use the national EHR sharing service?
MHLW aims for nationwide use around winter of fiscal 2026, for clinics whose record supports the final technical guide.6
Do new clinics in Tokyo face opening restrictions?
Since 1 April 2026, a bedless clinic in a designated outpatient-surplus area must give six months' notice, and Tokyo was still deciding its designated areas in April 2026.5
Where would our records be hosted?
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic.
Who sends replies to Tokyo patients?
The reception team. wai drafts each reply for a person at the clinic to review and send, and clinical documents leave only after the doctor signs.
Sources
- 1Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2026Survey of medical institutions (dynamic), provisional figures for end of July 2026Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 2Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Bureau of General Affairs, Statistics Division, 2026Foreign population of Tokyo, 1 January 2026, by municipality and nationalityRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 3Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2026Guidelines for the security management of medical information systems, version 7.0, planning and management volumeRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 4Personal Information Protection Commission, 2026Promulgation of the act amending the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, 17 July 2026Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 5Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Bureau of Public Health, 2026Tokyo outpatient care plan and notice for clinics in outpatient-surplus areasRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 6Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 202635th medical information utilisation working group, document 1, EHR information sharing service scheduleRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 7Japan National Tourism Organization, 2026Visitor arrivals to Japan, December 2025 estimates and 2025 totalRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 8wai, 2026wai changelog, intake answered by voice in any languageRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 9Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 20242022 survey of physicians, dentists and pharmacists, statistical tables, Table 9 by prefectureRead 15 October 2026Read source
Every Tokyo enquiry answered, every letter signed before the patient leaves.
Fifteen minutes with a clinician who uses wai daily, on your own calls, messages and diary. We reply within one working day.
Partner with us
See it on your own patients, then build it with us
Thirty minutes on your own patients, doctors and rules, in your market. We reply within one working day, and the clinics that partner with us early shape what we build next.
See what wai does between the visits