Childhood Vaccinations in Japan: A Guide for Foreign Families in Fukuoka (2026)

Japan’s childhood vaccination schedule overlaps with most foreign schedules, but the gaps matter.

Some shots come earlier, some later, and a few — Hepatitis A among them — sit off the routine list entirely.

If you’re moving to Fukuoka with kids, this guide covers records, clinics, what is free versus paid, and which gaps to fill.

It pairs well with our complete expat guide to living in Fukuoka with kids, which covers the wider settling-in process.

Quick answer: Japan’s immunization schedule at a glance (2026)

Japan’s routine (teiki) childhood shots are free in Fukuoka inside each target age band. From 2 months: 5-in-1, pneumococcal, Hepatitis B and rotavirus. BCG at 5–7 months. MR and chickenpox from 12 months. Japanese encephalitis from age 3. A second MR before school, DT at 11, and HPV for girls from about 12. Mumps, flu and Hepatitis A are voluntary and self-paid.

Japan’s two-tier vaccination system

• Teiki (定期, routine): government-funded, free at participating clinics for children inside the target age band. Class A routine shots carry an “obligation to endeavour” (doryoku gimu) under the Immunisation Act — strongly expected, but not a legal requirement
• Nin’i (任意, voluntary): not in the routine schedule but often recommended. Fukuoka City does not subsidise them, so the family pays the full price and each clinic sets its own — includes some shots that are routine in other countries

Japan childhood immunization schedule by age (comparison table)

The table below lists every common childhood vaccine in Japan, whether it is routine or voluntary, and who pays in Fukuoka City.

Ages are the standard timing; each routine vaccine also has a wider free window, detailed in the sections that follow.

Vaccine	Routine / voluntary	Standard age	Doses	Cost in Fukuoka City
Rotavirus	Routine (teiki)	From 6 weeks; finish by 24 or 32 weeks	2 or 3 (by brand)	Free
Hepatitis B	Routine (teiki)	From 2 months, before age 1	3	Free
5-in-1 (DPT-IPV-Hib)	Routine (teiki)	From 2 months	4	Free
Pneumococcal (PCV20 / PCV15)	Routine (teiki)	From 2 months	4 (standard start)	Free
BCG (tuberculosis)	Routine (teiki)	5–7 months	1	Free
MR (measles + rubella)	Routine (teiki)	12–23 months; year before elementary school	2	Free
Varicella (chickenpox)	Routine (teiki)	12–14 months, then 6–12 months later	2	Free
Japanese encephalitis	Routine (teiki)	Age 3 (×2), age 4, age 9	4	Free
DT (diphtheria + tetanus)	Routine (teiki)	Age 11	1	Free
HPV (9-valent, girls)	Routine (teiki)	School year 6 to high school year 1	2 or 3 (by starting age)	Free (girls only)
Influenza	Voluntary (nin’i)	From 6 months, every season	2 a year under 13	Self-pay
Mumps	Voluntary (nin’i)	From age 1; year before elementary school	2	Self-pay
Hepatitis A	Voluntary (nin’i)	From age 1	3	Self-pay
Meningococcal ACWY	Voluntary (nin’i)	From age 2, when indicated	1	Self-pay

Routine (free) Japanese schedule highlights

0–12 months

• BCG (tuberculosis) × 1 dose — standard age in Fukuoka is 5–7 months
• 5-in-1 (DPT-IPV-Hib: diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, Hib) × 4 doses — this replaced the old 4-in-1 plus a separate Hib course in April 2024, and the 4-in-1 has since been discontinued
• PCV (pneumococcal) × 4 doses on the standard start — the 13-valent vaccine has been superseded; the 20-valent is now used by default, with the 15-valent still permitted
• Hepatitis B × 3 doses
• Rotavirus × 2 or 3 doses depending on brand — the course has to finish by 24 or 32 weeks of age, so there is no catch-up for a baby who arrives after that

1–3 years

• MR (measles + rubella) — first dose, between 12 and 23 months
• Varicella (chickenpox) × 2 doses — first at 12–14 months, second 6–12 months later, both before the third birthday
• Japanese encephalitis — the routine window opens at 6 months, but the standard first stage is two doses at age 3 plus a booster at age 4

School age

• MR second dose — the year before elementary school starts (1 April to 31 March, so roughly age 5–6)
• Japanese encephalitis second stage — standard age 9, routine window 9 to 12
• DT (diphtheria + tetanus) booster — standard age 11, routine window 11 to 12
• HPV — girls only, from school year 6 to the first year of high school (roughly age 12–16)
• Since April 2026 the 9-valent vaccine is the only publicly funded HPV vaccine, and the extra catch-up programme for older girls closed on 31 March 2026
• HPV vaccination for boys is voluntary and self-paid in Japan; Fukuoka City’s programme covers girls only

Spacing rules between different vaccines

Since October 2020, Japan only sets a minimum gap between two injectable live vaccines: at least 27 days, for example MR followed by chickenpox or BCG.

Other combinations can be given on any day, and several shots at one visit are normal. Doses of the same vaccine still follow their own intervals, so ask the pediatrician to plan a catch-up.

Voluntary (paid) shots commonly added

• Influenza: licensed from 6 months; 2 doses a year for under-13s; a nasal live vaccine is an alternative for ages 2–18
• Mumps: 2 doses — the first from age 1, the second in the year before elementary school. Not in Japan’s routine schedule
• Hepatitis A: 3 doses on the Japanese schedule; not routine in Japan; routine on the US schedule
• Meningococcal ACWY: from age 2 — for travel to outbreak regions, dorm living, or specific medical conditions. Menactra has been withdrawn in Japan and MenQuadfi is the current product; no meningococcal B vaccine is licensed here at all
• Travel-specific: typhoid (from age 2), rabies, yellow fever (from 9 months) — at travel clinics

Fukuoka City subsidises none of these, so the family pays the full price and each clinic sets its own — ask for the figure when you book.

Voluntary shots add up over the years, so budget for them alongside your other first-year setup costs such as housing deposits and school supplies.

Hepatitis A: why Japan keeps it voluntary

Domestic Hepatitis A infection is rare in Japan, which is the main reason the shot never entered the routine schedule.

Most Japanese children never receive it, so smaller clinics may not keep it in stock and will need to order it in — call before you go.

Item	Detail (2026)
Status in Japan	Voluntary (nin’i) — family pays, no ward voucher
Schedule	3 doses: two 2–4 weeks apart, then a third at least 24 weeks after the first. Licensed from age 1
Cost in Fukuoka	Self-pay in full — each clinic sets its own price, so ask when you book
Where	Pediatric clinic (pre-order) or hospital travel clinic

Who should still pay for it

• Yes — families who travel to South or Southeast Asia, Africa or Latin America
• Yes — kids whose series was left unfinished abroad; the Japanese product runs on a different schedule, so let the clinic decide how to complete it
• Optional — families staying inside Japan and other low-incidence countries

Hospital travel clinics handle the pre-trip series most smoothly; see our guide to pediatric hospitals in Fukuoka for those options.

Planning a trip that calls for the shot? Allow about six months to get through the full three-dose course before you fly.

Aligning foreign vaccination records

Step 1: Bring records translated

• Your home country’s immunization record + ideally Japanese translation
• Most pediatric clinics will accept English-language records but translation reduces confusion
• Bring the original dates and the vaccine names, not just a summary — the pediatrician has to map each one onto Japan’s schedule

Step 2: Visit pediatric clinic for assessment

• Pediatrician reviews record vs Japan’s schedule
• Identifies gaps and over-coverage
• Recommends catch-up plan
• Fukuoka City’s designated clinics run vaccinations Monday to Friday as a rule, and the city asks you to contact the clinic before you go rather than turning up
• If language is the sticking point, Fukuoka City runs a free medical interpreting call centre on 092-733-5429 — 24 hours, around 20 languages

If language is a concern for that first assessment, our list of English-speaking doctors and pediatricians in Fukuoka can help you find a clinic where you can discuss the catch-up plan clearly.

The clinic booking, the ward-office visit and the interpreter line all come in your first days, often before home internet is connected.

To phone clinics and the 092-733-5429 line from day one, set up a Japan eSIM or pocket Wi-Fi before you land.

Step 3: Get the boshi techo (Mother-Child Health Handbook)

• Fukuoka City issues the handbook at the ward health and welfare centre, and free foreign-language editions are available on request in English, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Nepali, Thai, Tagalog, Portuguese, Indonesian and Spanish
• Families arriving with children already born are also issued the separate yobousesshu techo (vaccination handbook) at the ward office — the pre-vaccination questionnaires are bound inside it
• The pediatrician records all shots in the boshi techo — it becomes your primary record going forward, and you bring both handbooks to every appointment

Many families register their address and collect both handbooks while still in temporary accommodation.

If your lease starts a few weeks after you land, compare family-size stays near Hakata and Tenjin, a short subway ride from several ward offices and pediatric clinics.

Common alignment scenarios

From US schedule

• US has MMR (measles+mumps+rubella); Japan splits into MR + voluntary mumps
• US gives Hepatitis A routinely from age 1; in Japan it is voluntary — bring proof of the completed series, or finish it here as a paid shot on Japan’s three-dose schedule
• US polio is IPV; Japan folds it into the 5-in-1 — usually compatible
• US has yearly flu — Japan voluntary; continue in Fukuoka via paid shots
• US chickenpox is 12 months plus a second dose at 4–6 years; Japan gives both doses before the third birthday, so a child who has had only the first is due the second here rather than at school age

From UK/EU schedule

• UK MenB vaccine — no meningococcal B vaccine is licensed in Japan, so that series cannot simply be continued here; plan the timing with your home clinic
• Hepatitis A is travel-only in the UK and most of the EU, exactly as in Japan — no new gap
• UK rotavirus given orally; Japan also oral — compatible
• UK 6-in-1 vs Japan 5-in-1 — Japan gives hepatitis B as a separate 3-dose course rather than inside the combination

From Australia schedule

• Australia gives mumps as part of MMR; Japan voluntary — pay separately or skip
• Australia funds Hepatitis A only for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in NT, QLD, SA and WA (at 18 months and 4 years); otherwise it is travel-only, as in Japan
• Otherwise close alignment

Where to get vaccinated in Fukuoka

• Routine shots: any clinic on Fukuoka City’s designated list — the searchable directory is linked from the city’s children’s vaccination page, and sessions run Monday to Friday as a rule
• Voluntary shots: same clinic typically; may need to pre-order vaccines
• International travel shots: hospital travel clinics — Kyushu University Hospital runs yellow fever on Wednesday mornings and Saiseikai Fukuoka General Hospital takes travel-vaccine bookings by form
• Fukuoka University Hospital’s travel and vaccine clinic closed at the end of September 2025, so do not plan around it
• Contact the clinic before you go — Fukuoka City asks this for routine shots as well as voluntary ones, so walk-ins are not the norm

For larger clinics and after-hours options, see our guide to pediatric hospitals in Fukuoka.

Travelling in from elsewhere in Kyushu for a travel-clinic series? Morning slots are easiest from a Hakata or Tenjin base — compare family rooms in central Fukuoka.

What to bring

• Boshi techo (Mother-Child Health Handbook)
• Yobousesshu techo (vaccination handbook) — Fukuoka City posts it the month after birth, or issues it at the ward office when you move in
• The pre-vaccination questionnaire (yoshin-hyo) and application form, both bound inside the vaccination handbook — fill them in at home
• ID showing the child’s address and age (residence card, My Number card or health insurance card). Routine shots are publicly funded rather than billed to insurance
• A parent: under-13s must be accompanied by a guardian, and any other adult needs a signed proxy form
• Cash or card for voluntary shots

After-vaccination care

The first 30 minutes and first 48 hours

• For about 30 minutes after the shot, watch your child and stay somewhere you can reach the doctor immediately — that is when a sudden reaction would show
• Systemic reactions to an inactivated vaccine usually appear within 24 hours, at the latest 48
• Ask the clinic before giving any fever medicine

The following weeks

• Fukuoka City advises watching for side effects for a week after an inactivated vaccine and four weeks after a live one
• Severe reaction (high fever, hives, difficulty breathing): call the clinic or 119
• Note any reactions in the boshi techo for future reference
• If a routine shot causes a health problem that needs treatment, Japan has a statutory injury-relief scheme — ask your ward’s health and welfare centre

If a reaction escalates and you’re unsure whether to wait or go in, our guide on emergency care for kids in Fukuoka — when to go where walks through the decision.

Vaccination culture in Japan

• Uptake is high but not universal: in FY2024 national MR coverage was 92.7% for the first dose and 91.0% for the second
• Fukuoka Prefecture sat at 92.5% and 90.8% — both below the 95% target
• HPV is still contentious, but it never left the routine schedule. What was suspended was the government’s proactive recommendation, resumed in April 2022
• The separate HPV catch-up programme for older girls ended on 31 March 2026
• Mumps is voluntary for historical reasons — the domestic MMR was withdrawn in 1993 after aseptic meningitis cases, and mumps has been a standalone voluntary shot ever since
• Class A routine shots carry an obligation to endeavour rather than a legal mandate, so a missed dose is not an offence
• But the routine age band is also the window in which the shot is free — outside it, the same vaccine becomes a self-paid voluntary one

Costs summary

Category	Type	Cost
Routine schedule (full)	Teiki (routine)	Free for residents inside the target age band (fully publicly funded)
Voluntary additions	Nin’i (voluntary)	Paid in full by the family — Fukuoka City subsidises none of them and each clinic sets its own price
Hepatitis A (3-dose course)	Nin’i (voluntary)	Three self-paid doses — ask the clinic for its price before you start
Travel vaccines (per pre-trip series)	Voluntary / travel	Self-pay at the travel clinic; ask when you book, as it varies by vaccine and hospital
Annual flu (per kid)	Voluntary	Self-pay every season — two doses a year for under-13s

FAQ: Childhood vaccinations in Japan for foreign families

What is the routine immunization schedule in Japan?

From 2 months: 5-in-1, pneumococcal, Hepatitis B and rotavirus. BCG follows at 5–7 months, then MR and chickenpox from 12 months.

Japanese encephalitis starts at age 3, a second MR comes before elementary school, DT at 11, and HPV for girls from about 12. All are free inside the target age band.

Is the Hepatitis A vaccine routine or voluntary in Japan?

Voluntary (nin’i). Japan does not fund it, so the family pays in full at a price the clinic sets. Many clinics have to order the vaccine in, so call ahead.

The vaccine is licensed from age 1, and the Japan Pediatric Society schedule is three doses — two given 2–4 weeks apart, then a third at least 24 weeks after the first.

That differs from the two-dose US regimen, so ask the clinic how to complete a series started abroad. American kids usually arrive already covered, because Hepatitis A is routine in the US.

Are routine childhood vaccinations free in Fukuoka?

Yes, for children inside the target age band. Register your address and receive the boshi techo plus the vaccination handbook, which contains the pre-vaccination questionnaires.

Routine (teiki) shots are then fully publicly funded at Fukuoka City’s designated clinics. Outside the age band the same shot becomes a self-paid voluntary one.

Will a clinic accept my child’s foreign vaccination record?

Most pediatric clinics accept English-language records, but a Japanese translation reduces confusion and speeds up the catch-up assessment.

What shots does Japan not give routinely?

Mumps, Hepatitis A, meningococcal and most travel-specific vaccines are voluntary (nin’i) in Japan. Seasonal flu is voluntary for children too, and the family pays out of pocket for all of them.

Related family-life guides

• Emergency Care for Kids in Fukuoka: When to Go Where
• Pediatric Hospitals in Fukuoka: Family Guide
• List of English-Speaking Doctors and Pediatricians in Fukuoka
• Living in Fukuoka with Kids: Complete Expat Guide