A person who seeks to become a medical practitioner must pass the national examination for medical practitioners and receive a license from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

A license is not granted to a minor.

It is possible that a license will not be granted to person who falls under any of the following items:

A register of medical practitioners is to be prepared at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, in which the date of registration, matters regarding dispositions pursuant to the provisions of Article 7, paragraph (1), and other matters in relation to the medical practitioner's license are to be registered.

①Licensing is carried out by registration of the license in the register of medical practitioners upon application by a person who has passed the national examination for medical practitioners.

②The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare delivers a certificate of the medical practitioner's license when the Minister has granted a license.

③A medical practitioner must notify their name, address (and the address of the place the person engages in medical practice), and any other matters specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as of December 31 of every second year as specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare through the prefectural governor for the residential location, by January 15 of the following year. However, when the notification is made, pursuant to the provisions of Article 6, paragraph (1) of the Act on the Advancement of Government Administration Processes That Utilize Information and Communications Technology (Act No. 151 of 2002), using the electronic data processing system prescribed in that paragraph, it is not required to go through the prefectural governor.

When the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds that a person who has applied for a medical practitioner's license falls under Article 4, item (i) and decides not to grant the person a license pursuant to the provisions of the same Article, the Minister must notify the applicant to that effect in advance, and must have an official designated by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare hear the opinion of the applicant when so requested by the applicant.

①When a medical practitioner comes to fall under any item of Article 4 or has acted in a way that damages their respectability as a medical practitioner, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may render the following dispositions:

②A person who has been rendered a disposition of revocation pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph (excluding persons who have been rendered a disposition of revocation pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph as a person who falls under Article 4, item (iii) or item (iv) or who has acted in a way that damages their respectability as a medical practitioner, for whom five years have not elapsed since the date of disposition) may be granted a new license when the person no longer falls under the circumstances which led to the revocation or when it is found appropriate to grant a new license due to subsequent circumstances. In this case, the provisions of Article 6, paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis.

③In rendering a disposition as provided for in the preceding two paragraphs, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must hear the opinions of the Medical Ethics Council in advance.

④When the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare seeks to render a disposition to revoke a license pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), the Minister may request that the prefectural governor hear the opinions of the person subject to the disposition, and the hearing of opinions may be substituted for the hearing by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

⑤The provisions of Chapter III, Section 2 (excluding Article 25, Article 26, and Article 28) of the Administrative Procedure Act (Act No. 88 of 1993) apply mutatis mutandis to the case in which a hearing of opinions is conducted by a prefectural governor pursuant to the preceding paragraph. In this case, the term "hearing" in Section 2 is deemed to be replaced with "hearing of opinions," the term "administrative agency" in Article 15, paragraph (1) and paragraph (3) of that Act (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 22, paragraph (3) of that Act) with "prefectural governor," the phrase "the administrative agency has" in Article 15, paragraph (4) of that Act (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 22, paragraph (3) of that Act) with "the prefectural governor has," the phrase "of the administrative agency" in that paragraph with "of the prefecture," the term "administrative agency" in Article 16, paragraph (4) and Article 18, paragraph (1) and paragraph (3) of that Act with "prefectural governor," the phrase "an employee nominated by an administrative agency or other persons specified by Cabinet Order" in Article 19, paragraph (1) of that Act with "an employee nominated by the prefectural governor," the term "administrative agency" in Article 20, paragraph (1), paragraph (2), and paragraph (4) of that Act with "prefecture," and the term "administrative agency" in paragraph (6) of that Article and Article 24, paragraph (3) of that Act with "prefectural governor."

⑥When documents proving the facts leading to the relevant disposition or other documents necessary for conducting a hearing of opinions is requested by a prefectural governor, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must promptly send the documents to the prefectural governor.

⑦When a prefectural governor, in conducting a hearing of opinions pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (4), has received the record as set forth in Article 24, paragraph (1) of the Administrative Procedure Act and the report as set forth in paragraph (3) of that Article pursuant to the provisions of Article 24, paragraph (3) of that Act as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (5) following the deemed replacement of terms, the governor must keep them and submit copies of the record and the report to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. In this case, if there is an opinion on the decision on the disposition, the governor must submit, in addition to the copies, a written opinion stating that opinion.

⑧When the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds it necessary in light of the circumstances that arose after the conclusion of the hearing of opinions, the Minister may request the prefectural governor to return the copies of the record and the report submitted pursuant to the provisions of the first sentence of the preceding paragraph and the written opinion submitted pursuant to the provisions of the second sentence of that paragraph, and to order the presiding official to resume the hearing of opinions. The provisions of the main text of Article 22, paragraph (2), and paragraph (3) of the Administrative Procedure Act apply mutatis mutandis to this case.

⑨In making a decision on the disposition, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must carefully consider the details of the written opinion and copies of the record and report submitted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (7).

⑩When the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare seeks to order the suspension of medical practice pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), the Minister may request the prefectural governor to hear the explanation of the person subject to the disposition, and may substitute the hearing of explanation for the Minister's grant of an opportunity for explanation.

⑪In conducting an explanation hearing pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the prefectural governor must notify the person subject to the disposition of the following matters in writing, within a reasonable period of time prior to the date of the explanation hearing:

⑫In addition to the case referred to in paragraph (10), the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may have a member of the Medical Ethics Council hear the explanation of the person subject to the disposition, in lieu of the Minister's grant of an opportunity for explanation. In this case, the term "the preceding paragraph" in the preceding paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "the following paragraph," the term "the prefectural governor" is deemed to be replaced with "the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare," and the provisions of the same paragraph apply.

⑬A person who has received a notice as set forth in paragraph (11) (including cases where the deemed replacement of terms is applied pursuant to the provisions of the second sentence of the preceding paragraph) may have an agent appear and submit documentary evidence or articles of evidence.

⑭When an explanation hearing has been conducted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (10) or the first sentence of paragraph (12), the prefectural governor or a member of the Medical Ethics Council must prepare and keep a hearing report, and also prepare a report and submit it to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. In this case, if there is an opinion on the decision on the disposition, the opinion must be stated in the report.

⑮When a prefectural governor is to conduct a hearing of opinions or an explanation hearing pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (4) or paragraph (10), the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must notify the governor of the following matters in advance:

⑯Both the notice under Article 15, paragraph (1) of the Administrative Procedure Act as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (5) following the deemed replacement of terms in which a hearing of opinions is conducted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (4), and the notice under paragraph (11) in which an explanation hearing is conducted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (10), must be based on the details notified pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

⑰The provisions of Chapter III of the Administrative Procedure Act (excluding Article 12 and Article 14) do not apply to the disposition when the prefectural governor conducts a hearing of opinions or an explanation hearing pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (4) or paragraph (10), or when a member of the Medical Ethics Council conducts an explanation hearing pursuant to the provisions of the first sentence of paragraph (12).

①The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may order a medical practitioner who has been rendered a disposition set forth in paragraph (1), item (i) or item (ii) of the preceding Article, or a person who seeks to receive a new license pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) of the same Article to undergo the training on maintenance of ethics as a medical practitioner or the training on the knowledge and skills that should be possessed as a medical practitioner that is specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (hereinafter referred to as "reeducation training").

②Upon application by a person who has completed the reeducation training pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare registers the fact that the person has completed the reeducation training in the register of medical practitioners.

③When the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare has made a registration as set forth in the preceding paragraph, the Minister delivers a registration certificate for completion of reeducation training.

④A person seeking to be registered as set forth in paragraph (2) or a person seeking to be issued a replacement or redelivery of the registration certificate for completion of reeducation training must pay the amount of fees that is specified by Cabinet Order in consideration of the actual costs.

⑤The provisions of Article 7, paragraphs (10) through (17) (excluding paragraph (12)) apply mutatis mutandis to the case in which the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare seeks to render an order pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1). In this case, the necessary technical replacement of terms is specified by Cabinet Order.

①When the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds that it is necessary to investigate whether a disposition should be made regarding a medical practitioner pursuant to the provisions of Article 7, paragraph (1), the Minister may seek the opinions of and collect reports from persons who are connected with the case, or witnesses, order the owners of medical records and other objects to submit them, and have the relevant officials enter the hospital or any other location that is connected with the case and inspect the medical records and other objects.

②An official seeking to carry out entry and inspection pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph must carry an identification card and produce it when requested to do so by the persons concerned.

③The authority for entry and inspection pursuant to paragraph (1) must not be construed as being approved for the purposes of criminal investigation.

Beyond what is provided for in this Chapter, necessary matters related to application for license, registration, correction, and cancellation in the register of medical practitioners, the delivery, replacement, redelivery, return, and submission of license certificates, and notification of address are specified by Cabinet Order, and necessary matters related to the dispositions set forth in Article 7, paragraph (1), the implementation of reeducation training as set forth in Article 7-2, paragraph (1), registration in the register of medical practitioners as set forth in paragraph (2) of the same Article, and the delivery, replacement, and redelivery of the registration certificate for completion of reeducation training as set forth in paragraph (3) of the same Article are specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.