Long-Term Care Insurance Act

With regard to a Long-Term Care Health Facility, regardless of documents or any other methods, no person may advertise the Facility, except for the following matters:

matters that display the name, telephone number, and location of a Long-Term Care Health Facility;

names of physicians and nurses who are employed at the Long-Term Care Health Facility;

in addition to matters listed in the preceding two items, matters as determined by the Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare;

other matters approved by the prefectural governor.

The Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare, with regard to method of advertisement of matters listed in item (iii) of the preceding paragraph, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, may specify necessary matters.

An Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, except for matters pertaining to approval pursuant to the provisions of Article 94, paragraph (2), when the domicile of an Establisher of said Long-Term Care Health Facility or other matters as determined by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare are changed, or when it recommences said Long-Term Care Health Facility that was suspended, must provide notification of said fact to the prefectural governor within ten days pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

An Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, when intending to abolish or suspend said Long-Term Care Health Facility, must provide notification of said fact to the prefectural governor by one month prior to the date of said abolishment or suspension, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

A prefectural governor or mayor of a Municipality, when it is determined to be necessary for an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility to smoothly provide the conveniences prescribed in Article 97, paragraph (6), may provide coordination among said Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, Establishers of other Long-Term Care Health Facilities, and other relevant persons, or advice and other assistance to said Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility and said relevant persons.

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, in a case when two or more prefectural governors provide coordination or assistance pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph for the same Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, when it is determined to be necessary for said Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility to smoothly provide the conveniences prescribed in Article 97, paragraph (6), may provide coordination among said prefectural governors, or advice and other assistance to said Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility from a wide-area perspective beyond the areas of prefectures.

A prefectural governor or mayor of a Municipality, when it is determined to be necessary, may order an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, a manager of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, or a physician or other employee (herein referred to as an "Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, etc.") to report, or to submit or present medical records or other record books and documents, request an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, etc., to appear, have its personnel ask questions of an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, etc., or have them enter a Long-Term Care Health Facility, the office of an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, or another place related to the management of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, and inspect the facilities, medical records, record books and documents, or other items thereof.

The provisions of Article 24, paragraph (3) apply mutatis mutandis to questions and inspections pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, and the provisions of paragraph (4) of the same Article apply mutatis mutandis to the authority granted pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), the mayor of the Municipality that ordered an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, etc., to report, submit or present, or to appear, or had its personnel ask questions of an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, etc., or conduct an on-site inspection of the Long-Term Care Health Facility, when it is determined that a disposition pursuant to the provisions of the following Article, Article 102, paragraph (1), Article 103, paragraph (3), or Article 104, paragraph (1) needs to be made with respect to said Long-Term Care Health Facility, must provide notification of said fact to the prefectural governor, indicating the reasons.

A prefectural governor, when a Long-Term Care Health Facility no longer possesses the medical care rooms, consultation rooms and functional training rooms, and the facilities determined by Prefectural Ordinance as prescribed in Article 97, paragraph (1), or no longer conforms with the standards concerning facilities and management of a Long-Term Care Health Facility as prescribed in paragraph (3) of the same Article (limited to the part concerning facilities), may, with regard to the Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, restrict or prohibit the use of the whole or a part of said facility for a specified period, or specify a due date and order repair or reconstruction.

A prefectural governor, when it is determined that a Manager of a Long-Term Care Health Facility is inappropriate as a Manager of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, may order the Establisher of said Long-Term Care Health Facility to change the Manager of the Long-Term Care Health Facility within a period limited by a due date.

The Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare, with regard to the affairs pertaining to the authority of a prefectural governor as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, when it determines the urgent necessity to ensure life and the physical safety of a person that may be admitted to a Long-Term Care Health Facility, may order the prefectural governor to conduct the affairs as set forth in the same paragraph.

A prefectural governor, when finding that a Long-Term Care Health Facility falls under any of the cases listed in the following items, may specify a due date and recommend to the Establisher of said Long-Term Care Health Facility that it take the measures specified in each of those items.

if it fails to satisfy the number specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare or Prefectural Ordinance under Article 97, paragraph (2) with regard to the number of employees engaged in its business: to satisfy said number specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare or Prefectural Ordinance;

in the case where it does not conform to the standards pertaining to facilities and management of a Long-Term Care Health Facility as prescribed in Article 97, paragraph (3) (limited to the part pertaining to management): to conform to the standards pertaining to facilities and management of said Long-Term Care Health Facility;

in the case where it does not properly provide the convenience prescribed in Article 97, paragraph (6): to properly provide said convenience.

A prefectural governor, in a case of providing a recommendation pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, may provide public notice of the fact that the Establisher of said Long-Term Care Health Facility that is issued said recommendation did not act in compliance with said recommendation within the due date as set forth in the same paragraph.

A prefectural governor, when an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility that was issued a recommendation pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) does not implement the measures pertaining to said recommendation without a justifiable basis, may order the Establisher of said Long-Term Care Health Facility to implement measures pertaining to said recommendation within a period specified by a due date or to suspend said operation for a period of time.

A prefectural governor, when issuing an order pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, must issue public notice of said fact.

With regard to a Long-Term Care Health Facility that provided Long-Term Care Health Facility Service pertaining to an Insurance Benefit, a Municipality, when it is determined that said Long-Term Care Health Facility corresponds to any of the cases listed in the items of paragraph (1), must provide notification of said fact to the prefectural governor that governs the location of said Long-Term Care Health Facility.

A prefectural governor, in a case that corresponds to any of the following items, may rescind the approval as set forth in Article 94, paragraph (1) pertaining to said Long-Term Care Health Facility or suspend the whole or a part of the effect of said appointment as service provider within the period limited by a due date:

when an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility does not commence said operation for six months or more after obtaining approval as set forth in Article 94, paragraph (1) without a reasonable basis;

when a Long-Term Care Health Facility has come to correspond to any of Article 94, paragraph (3), items (iv) through (v)-2, item (x) (excluding when it is one that has a person who corresponds to item (v)-3), or item (xi) (excluding when it is one that has a person who corresponds to item (v)-3);

when it is determined that an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility violates an obligation as prescribed in Article 97, paragraph (7);

when an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility committed a crime or act of dishonesty concerning medical business;

when a Long-Term Care Health Facility is entrusted with an investigation pursuant to the provisions of Article 28, paragraph (5) and submits a false report regarding the result of said investigation;

when an Allowance for Long-term care Facility Service is wrongly requested;

when an Establisher, etc., of a Long-Term Care Health Facility is ordered to report, submit or present medical records or record books and documents pursuant to the provisions of Article 100, paragraph (1), but disobeys said order or submits a false report;

when an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, etc. is requested to appear pursuant to the provisions of Article 100, paragraph (1) but does not respond or does not reply to questions pursuant to the provisions of the same paragraph or submits a false reply, or refuses, interrupts, or interferes with an inspection pursuant to the provisions of the same paragraph, however, provided that this provision does not apply when an employee of a Long-Term Care Health Facility performed said act and the Establisher or manager of said Long-Term Care Health Facility was faithfully providing reasonable care and supervision in order to prevent said act;

in addition to the cases listed in the preceding items, when an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility violates this Act, another Act concerning citizens' health and medical care and public aid as provided by a Cabinet Order, or an Order or disposition of a matter based on these Acts;

in addition to the cases listed in the preceding items, when an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility performs a wrongful or significantly unjustifiable act concerning In-Home Service, etc.;

in a case when an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility is a juridical person, when any of said Officer, etc., or said Manager of a Long-Term Care Health Facility performs a wrongful or significantly unjustifiable act concerning In-Home Service, etc., within five years and the appointment as service provider is rescinded or the whole or a part of the effect of the appointment as service provider is suspended due to said act;

in a case when an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility is not a juridical person among those provided by the Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare as set forth in Article 94, paragraph (3), item (i), a manager of said Provider performs a wrongful or significantly unjustifiable act concerning In-Home Service, etc., within five years and the appointment as service provider is rescinded or the whole or a part of the effect of the appointment as service provider is suspended due to said act.

With regard to a Long-Term Care Health Facility that conducts an entrusted investigation or provided Long-Term Care Health Facility Service pertaining to an Insurance Benefit pursuant to the provisions of Article 28, paragraph (5), a Municipality, when it determines said Long-Term Care Health Facility corresponds to any provision of the items in the preceding paragraph, must provide notification of said fact to the prefectural governor that governs the location of said Long-Term Care Health Facility.

The Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare, with regard to the affair that belongs to the authority of the prefectural governor as prescribed in paragraph (1), when it determines the urgent necessity to secure life and the physical safety of a person that may be admitted to the Long-Term Care Health Facility, may order the prefectural governor to conduct the affairs as set forth in the same paragraph.

A prefectural governor must, in the following cases, provide public notice of the name or full name of the Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, the location of said Long-Term Care Health Facility, and other particulars specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare:

when approval has been granted pursuant to the provisions of Article 94, paragraph (1);

when a notification of abolition pursuant to the provisions of Article 99, paragraph (2) has been submitted;

when the approval set forth in Article 94, paragraph (1) has been rescinded, or the whole or a part of the effect of the approval has been suspended, pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article or Article 115-35, paragraph (6).

The provisions of Article 9, paragraph (2) of the Medical Care Act (Act No. 205 of 1948) apply mutatis mutandis to an Establisher of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, the provisions of Article 14-4 and Article 15, paragraphs (1) and (3) of the same Act apply mutatis mutandis to a manager of a Long-Term Care Health Facility, and the provisions of Article 30 of the same Act apply mutatis mutandis to dispositions pursuant to the provisions of Article 101, Article 102, paragraph (1), Article 103, paragraph (3) and Article 104, paragraph (1). In this case, necessary technical replacement of the terms of these provisions is specified by a Cabinet Order.