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● Payment of Health Insurance Premium
・Insurance premiums are calculated for a one-year period based on your previous year`s income.
・The premium is paid in ten installments throughout the year, from June until March next year.
Methods of Payment
(1)Make an account transfer from your bank or JP Bank . (2)Take the payment slip and pay directly at the bank, JP Bank,
convenience store, city office or branch office.
Contact info : City Office Insurance Affairs Office 072-824-1181
●Health Insurance Certificate (Card)
・Only one health insurance card is issued per family.
・When visiting a hospital or clinic, make sure to take this card with you
・When traveling in Japan, take your insurance card with you as it can be used at any hospital or clinic nationwide.
(However, it cannot be used overseas.)
※ Cautionary Information Concerning Your Card
・It is against the law to lend, borrow, buy or sell a health insurance card to or from another person.
・If you change your place of residence, you must notify the city office.
・Invalid or expired health insurance cards cannot be used. You can request a new card from the City Office. You will receive a new card
days before your old card expires in the mail.
・If you enroll in the social health insurance plan, or move out of Neyagawa, you must return your card to the
City Office Insurance Affairs Office.
※Health Insurance can not be used to reduce the amount owed in the following instances:
・In foreign countries, normal pregnancy or childbirth,general health check-ups, cosmetic dentistry and preventative vaccinations, etc.
・Injury caused by fighting or other willful misconduct.
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※In the event you receive medical treatment without possession of your insurance card
・You will be required to pay the entire amount of the bill. However, you can file for a reimbursement by taking your receipt and statement to the city office or to your company. After examining your case, the office or your company will reimburse 70% of the total cost.
・Partial refunds for medical treatment overseas are available on a case-by-case basis. Inquire about this at the City Office.
※Medical Expense Subsidy Scheme
・This scheme provides a refund for the portion of your medical expenses that exceed the established limit (kogakuryoyohi). Several months
after you received treatment, you will receive notification from the city office based on where you can apply for a refund.
・Please make sure not to lose the receipt you receive at the hospital.
Contact info : City Office Insurance Affairs Office 072-824-1181
● For individuals with low income
If your income is lower than the designated standard or you have no income, you can apply for “lawful reduction” to reduce 20, 50 or 70% insurance premium.
Contact info : City Office Insurance Affairs Office
072-824-1181
31 2 In Case of Illness
● Hospitals and Clinics
・Most hospitals and clinics take patients from Monday through Saturday, and there are no consultations on Sundays or holidays.
・In case of emergency, call an ambulance.(119
・When receiving your prescription, you should ask for full explanations from the doctor or pharmacist.
・After Hours or on Sundays and holidays, please go to the emergency hospitals and clinics.
Emergency Medical Service during Holidays and Sundays
Municipal Health & Welfare Center Clinic 072-828-3931 Open: Sundays, Holidays, and Dec. 30 - Jan. 4
Hours: 9:30～11:30 12:30～16:30 17:30～20:30( only Pediatrics) Departments: Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Dentistry
Location: 28-22 Ikedanisimachi, Neyagawa (Municipal Health &
Welfare Center 1stFl)
Nighttime Emergency Medical Service
Hirakata Municipal Health Center 4thFl 072-840-7555 Open: Everyday
Hours: 20:30～5:30
Departments: Pediatrics (under 15-year-old) Location: 2-13-13 Kinyahonmachi, Hirakata
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●About AED
AED stands for Automated External Defibrillator and we call it "Jido Taigaishiki josaido ki" in Japanese.
It restores the heart rhythm to normal through electronic shocks in the event of a sudden heart spasm (atrial fibrillation).
When you turn it on, the voice guidance (Japanese) explains how to use it in order, so anyone can use. ( AED itself judges whether electronic shocks are needed)
AEDs have been placed in public areas such as the airports or stations.
3 Medical Check-up
Medical check-ups are occasionally held at the Health & Welfare Center or designated medical institutions. Regular Examinations are highly
recommended as they can prevent you from getting ill, and sometimes can pick up signs of serious illness in the early stages.
Information about dates and times can be found in the Neyagawa Bi-Monthly Bulletin.
Contact info : Health Development Division
Health & Welfare Center 072-824-1181
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Take a Pregnancy Certificate issued by a doctor to the city office or branch offices. Then you can obtain a Maternity Record Book (which is explained further below.)
Where to Apply: City Office Citizens` Section、any Citizens` Center
During your pregnancy, you can have check-ups on the progress of your pregnancy at hospitals or clinics which have an outpatient maternity ward.
The Shiritsu Hoken-Fukushi Center (the Municipal Health and Welfare Center) offers free check-ups as well as information and advice. Feel free to consult nurses in your hometown, as well.
Contact info : Shiritsu Hoken-Fukushi Center 072-824-1181
HP: http://www.city.neyagawa.osaka.jp
・In the Maternity Record Book, the health of a mother and a baby is recorded during her pregnancy and birth, also the growth of baby is recorded.
・Make sure to take this book with you when you go to the hospital or have a consultation at Health and
Welfare Center, or when you take your baby to get vaccinations.
●What to do after you deliver the baby
1) Obtain a birth certificate, issued by the hospital.
Pregnancy
Maternity Record Book
Childbirth
７ . Childbirth and Raising Children
34
2) Take the birth certificate to the City Office Citizens` Section and hand it in along with a Registration of Birth (available at the City Office.)
※If one or both parents are not Japanese, they should notify their respective embassy or consulate in Japan.
※Please take your newborn baby to regular medical checkups. You can also get checkups and vaccinations (some of which are required by law) at the Municipal Health & Welfare Center or another clinic of your choice.
●Lump-sum Payments for Childbirth
Medical Insurance subscribers are eligible to receive a `lump-sum payment for childbirth` when they deliver their baby. Even if a woman has a miscarriage or stillbirth, she is entitled to receive a payment once she reaches the 84th day of her pregnancy. If you enrolled the National Health Insurance, the amount of payment is 420,000yen.
※There is also a system for making a one-time a `lump-sum payment for childbirth` directly to the hospital, etc.
For details, please ask each individual insurer.
A child who records their foreigner registration in Neyagawa City has a support system for medical expenses including hospitalization or hospital visit from birth to graduation from elementary school (to March 31 after the child turns 12 years old).
These services for children are only available to medical insurance subscribers.
What to take:
・Insurance Certification of the child
・Tax (Income) certification
Where to apply: City Office Insurance Affairs Office
072-824-1181 Citizen Center, Horimizo Service Window Support for Child Medical Expense
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●Child Allowance (as of October, 2011)
The parents who live in Japan with their child are eligible for get a child-rearing allowance until the child completes junior high school education.
● Single-parent family assistance
・Single parents are eligible to receive financial support for medical expenses.
Single Parent Medical Expense Supplement
・A child-rearing allowance is also available.
・Single-Parent Counseling
Counseling is available to address problems of single-parent families.
Contact info : Kodomo Shitsu in the Sogo Center 072-824-1181
●Day Care Center
Day Care Centers are facilities that provide daytime care for infants and preschool children whose parents are unable to take care of them at home during the daytime.
・Conditions: Parents must be working or sick or circumstance preventing them from being able to look after their child.
・Period for the service: From the end of maternity-leave until the child‟s entrance into elementary school
・Day-care Fee : It is based upon the total amount of parents' income tax or municipal tax in the household.
・Place for application: A child care room or individual nursery school
・Document required: "Day-Care entrance application form" and
"family situation form"
Contact info : Sogo Center Kids Room 072-824-1181 Child Allowance ・
Assistance for Single Parent
Day Care Services (Hoikusho)
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●After School Care Program : “Rusu Katei Jidou Kai” fee required
・This program is for taking care of elementary school children whose parents are absent from home during the day.
・ Children attend〝Rusu Katei Jidou Kai" after school. Advance registration is required.
Contact info : Neyagawa City Board of Education Social Education
072-838-5355 HP:http://www.city.neyagawa.osaka.jp/index/soshiki/syak ai-kyouiku/t-1932.html
●A number of facilities are available for recreational use by infants together with their guardians. Facilities include the Kodomo Center (Oyako Hot Station), and individual day-care centers. You can also join in optional circle or parenting group activities there. Parents and young children play together and learn about each other through the games and sports.
Kodomo Center 072-839-8815
Facilities available to: all preschool children aged 0-6 and their parents.
Hours of Operation: 10:00～16:00 daily
Holidays: second Sundays of every month, Dec 29- Jan 3
Contact info : City Office Kids Room 072-824-1181 Child Care Support
37
●”Shinseiji Houmon” : Visitation for newborn babies
For new born babies younger than 28 days, a midwife can visit the home and talk with the mother about such matters as breast feeding, baby's development or mother's health, etc.
Application is by postcard "Shussei Renraku Hyou" (a notification of the child birth) with attached Maternity Recored Book or calling directly by phone is also acceptable.
Contact info : Health Development Division
Health & Welfare Center 072-824-1181
●”Konnichiwa Akachan Houmon” : Visit for babies who haven‟t had
“Shinseiji Houmon”
Home visitors, usually social workers or children's social workers visit every home in which there is a baby who is younger
than 5 months. They bring information booklets "Konnichiwa
Akachan" and "Neyagawa Kosodate Map" about support child-rearing.
A family eligible for this service receives a postcard in advance (No application is required). If you are not at home on the first visit, home visitors will visit again several times.
※The staff members of home visitor are trained and they bring their IDs when they visit you.
※Please put your name plate on the front of your house. If there is no name plate, home visitors are not allowed to hand out the information booklets.
Contact info : Sogo Center Kids Room 072-824-1181
”Neyagawa Kosodate Navi” : Neyagawa child-raising information HP: http://www.city.neyagawa.osaka.jp/index/
soshiki/kodomokosodatenabi.html
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●Counseling on Child-Rearing
・ Child Guidance
Advice on raising children, discipline, delinquency or disorderly conduct is available.
Contact info :
Osaka-fu Chuo Kodomo Katei Center 072-828-0161 HP: http://www.pref.osaka.jp/kodomokatei/index.htm
・Consultation regarding Child Guidance
Advice for any concerns or worries concerning children up to the age of 18.
Contact info :
Katei Jido Advice Room 072-838-0181
・Rights of Children `Kodomo no Jinken Hyaku-toban (110 Ban)`
Consultation on issues such as bullying, corporal punishment, delinquency, or lengthy absences from school.
Contact info :
Ministry of Justice Toll free 0120-007-110 ( IP phone )Osaka Legal Affairs Bureau 06-6942-1183
39
1 The Japanese Educational System
●The Educational System
In Japan, elementary and junior high schools are compulsory for all children, and parents are required to send their children there.
●The School System
The Educational System is comprised of 6 years of elementary school, 3 years of middle school, 3 years of high school, and four years of university (or 2 years at a junior college.)
・Classes are held from Monday to Friday. However, some private schools have school on Saturday as well.
・School hours vary from school to school, and grade to grade.
● Municipal Kindergartens (Updated October, 2011)
In the City of Neyagawa there are 6 kindergartens. Children between the ages of 4-5 can attend.
Contact info : Neyagawa Municipal Board of Education
072-824-1181
● Private Kindergartens (Updated October, 2011)
There are 8 private kindergartens in Neyagawa. Children between the ages of 3-5 can attend.
Contact info :
The Osaka Prefecture Federation of Private Kindergartens HP:http://www.kinder-osaka.or.jp/ 06-6351-5574 2 Kindergarten
８ . School ・ Education
40
The school year begins on Apri 1st and ends on March 31st every year. In most schools, the school year is divided into 3 terms.
・Textbooks are provided free of charge at this level.
・In elementary schools, lunch is provided for a small fee.
・In middle schools, all students are required to bring their own lunch.
・In the event of financial difficulty, it is possible to borrow money from the School Aid System (Shugaku-enjo.) Don`t hesitate to ask your teacher about this.
Contact info : Neyagawa Municipal Board of Education
072-824-1181 HP: http://www.city.neyagawa.osaka.jp/index/soshiki/kyoiku.html High School
It is not compulsory for all children to attend high school. Students can choose their school from a range of national, public, and private institutions.
In order to enter high school, a minimum level of scholarship above that of a middle school graduate is required.
Contact info :
Public High Schools:
Osaka Municipal Board of Education 06-6941-0351
HP:http://www.pref.osaka.jp/kyoikusomu/homepage/index.html Osaka City Board of Education 06-6208-8181
HP: http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/kyoiku/
Neyagawa Municipal Board of Education 072-824-1181
HP: http://www.city.neyagawa.osaka.jp/index/soshiki/kyoiku.html Elementary School ・Middle School
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Private High Schools：Please seek advice from the students` current middle school teachers.
● Multilingual Guidance
Counseling meetings for foreign students attending Neyagawa City schools, and their parents, are available every fall.
Data on schools is available, as well as interpretation, in 6 different languages.
Advance registration is required.
Please ask to each junior high school or the following.
Contact info : Osaka Municipal Board of Education,
Student Support Group 06-6944-9370 HP: http://www.pref.osaka.jp/jidoseitoshien/
While attendance in elementary and middle schools is compulsory for Japanese students, foreign children are under no legal obligation to attend.
However, they are welcome to enroll by following the necessary application procedures.
●How to Enroll in Japanese Schools
・Apply by getting an application form at the City Office when you register yourself and your children.
・Get the information of the school (name, address). This is available at the City Office.
・Go to the school as instructed and hand in the completed application.
Then, fill in an entrance notice for foreigners given from the school and submit it.
Contact info : The Neyagawa Municipal Board of Education Gakumuka 072-824-1181
Foreign Children Attending Japanese Schools
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●If your Children Cannot Speak Japanese Well
An interpreter can be made available to help your children to take lessons about twice a week for the first year.
Contact info :: The Neyagawa Municipal Board of Education
Kyouiku Shidouka 072-824-1181
●Meetings for Foreign Students and Parents
In Neyagawa, meetings are held for parents and foreign students enrolled in the middle and elementary schools. Attend these
meetings to get information and meet people like yourself.
・For Children Held twice a year
・For Parents or Guardians Held once a year
・Saturday School Every Saturday morning Place: Elementary shools and middle schools or Neyagawa City Hall Contact info : NIEFA 072-811-5935 6 Japanese Language Instruction
● Reading and Writing Japanese Who: 15 years old or older.
(Except high school students, college students, students from overseas) Time: Every Wednesday 14：00～16：00、18：45～20：45
Place: Municipal Espoal (Esupoaru)
Contact info : City Office Area Education Promotion Room 072-838-2018
●Japanese Classrooms
At NIEFA, conversation lessons aimed at foreigners are held; these are open to those 15 years or older (in principle.)
Time: Every Tuesday 13:30～15:00 19:00～20:30 Place: Neyagawa Municipal Civic Hall
Contact info : NIEFA --Neyagawa-city International Exchange
and Friendship Association 072-811-5935 HP: http://www.niefa.or.jp
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In Neyagawa, there are four stations: JR Higashi Neyagawa, Keihan Kayashima, Keihan Neyagawashi and Keihan Korien.
● How to use the train
Purchase a ticket from the ticket machine. To pass through the ticket gate, insert the ticket into the appropriate slot and the gates will automatically open. Don‟t forget to take your ticket as you pass through.
If you have bought a ticket of lesser value than required,
you must pay the difference at fare adjustment machines located inside the ticket gate, or directly to a station
staff member.
※JR has women-only cars.
Keihan Railway has women-only cars on the limited express train during the morning rush hour on weekdays.
Contact info:
Keihan Railway Keihan Railway Customer Center
(Fare, Time tables) 06-6945-4560 ・Lost and Found Center (Kyobashi Station)
06-6353-2431 HP: http://www.keihan.co.jp/
JR ・JR West Customer Center 0570-00-2486 (Fare, Timetables, Lost and Found)
6:00～23:00 Open 7days a week HP： http://www.westjr.co.jp/
1. Train
. Transportation
44 Bus
Keihan Bus
● How to use the bus
Enter the bus from the back entrance and get off from thefront.
To get off, push one of the buttons provided near the seat to inform the driver just before you get off.
Put the proper coins or a coupon ticket into the fare box next to the driver‟s seat. You can also use a prepaid card.
● Bus Fare
The standard fare for most buses is 220 yen.
In some cases, the fare charges depend on the distance. On such lines, you must take a numbered ticket
(seiri-ken) when you board. Before getting off, compare the number on the ticket with the lit-up board at the front to determine the fare. Put the ticket and fare together in the fare box.
※ Children under the age of 12 can ride at half price.
※ Up to two children under the age of 6 may travel with an adult for free.
※ As only coins are accepted, it is better to change bills in advance.
150 yen loop line bus
The bus named „Town Kuru‟ travels on four routes round the city.
(1) Otowacho Route (Neyagawashi Station Korien Station) (2) Koya Route (Neyagawashi Station – Korien Station) (3) Kida-Kawakita Route (Neyagawashi Station – Kawakita) (4) Kurohara Route (Kayashima Station Kurohara asahimachi)
Contact info:
Keihan Bus Neyagawa Office 072-830-2221 HP：http://www.keihanbus.jp/
45
Various types of discount tickets (Waribiki-ken) are available for trains and buses.
Multiple-ride cards (Kaisu card):
An economical purchase in small book form. You can buy discount coupon tickets for fixed routes.
Commuter Tickets (Teiki-ken):
Unlimited use within a fixed period and route.
Special Discount For Students (Gakuwari):
Students can purchase a student pass at a discounted fare. Certification is required from your school or
university.
One-Day Pass (Ichinichi josha-ken):
You can ride any bus or train as many times as you like during a one-day period.
Taxi
A lamp at the top of each car indicates the name of the taxicab company.
In Japan, the back door opens automatically. Leave the opening and closing of doors to the driver.
●How to take a taxi
You can most easily find a taxi at taxi stands located next to train stations.
If a taxi is vacant, you can stop it by raising your hand and ride it.
You can also call a taxi dispatch center and request that they pick you up.
●Taxi Fare
Taxi fares are determined by distance and time of the ride. They are indicated on a fare meter next to the driver.
Higher fares are charged late of night and early in the morning.
For more information, please contact each taxi company.
Discount Tickets
46 Car and Motorcycle
Cars and motorcycles are driven on the left side of the street.
You are required to wear seat belts in cars and to wear helmets when you ride on motorcycles.
・Drunk driving is prohibited. Violations of this law will be met with severe punishment.
The use of a cell phone while driving is prohibited by law.
If you own a car, you must have it inspected every two or three years.
It is advisable to buy voluntary insurance as security against monetary loss from accidents .
Driver‟s License
● International Driver‟s License
If an international driver's license issued in another country is valid in Japan. The term of validity is one year from the date of issue.
※In the case of the person who came from a country which has not joined in "The international treaty on driving in foreign countries (the GenevaConvention)", an international license cannot be used.
● Using a foreign driver‟s license to apply for a Japanese driver‟s license If you come to Japan without changing your driver‟s license to an
international driver‟s license, you may apply for a Japanese driver‟s license at the Kadoma Driver‟s License Examination Center (located in Kadoma City.)
Conditions:
Possession of a valid foreign driver‟s license.
Proof that the applicant stayed in the issuing country for at least 3 months in total after obtaining the foreign license.
Necessary documents for application Your foreign driver‟s license
Proof that the applicant stayed in the issuing country for at least 3 months in total after obtaining the license.
※The current driver‟s license should be unexpired