Judo therapists across Japan can now bill for specialized post-exercise rehabilitation fees, operating under strict scheduling and billing limits enforced by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Strict Clinical Criteria for Reimbursement
The rehabilitation fee—officially designated as the judo-therapry post-exercise medical fee (柔道整復運動後療料)—applies exclusively when practitioners administer targeted post-treatment exercises aimed at restoring motor function following fractures, incomplete fractures, or dislocations. Billing is strictly prohibited for contusions, sprains, or strains. Standard stretching techniques do not qualify for reimbursement under the official payment standards.
Practitioners Must Record Dates and Charge 320 Yen Daily
Practitioners must record the exact date of calculation in both the summary column of the expense application form and the official treatment ledger.
The fee is fixed at 320 yen per day. This rate applies regardless of the number of body parts treated or the specific exercise volume, with individual sessions lasting approximately 20 minutes.
Billing Is Capped at Five Times per Month
Billing is capped at five times per calendar month and generally occurs once every seven days, starting 16 days after the initial injury date.
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare guidance clarifies that while a provider may bill twice within a single seven-day span to accommodate patient scheduling or major national holidays, the interval remains anchored to a weekly baseline.
Exceptions for Mid-Month Case Closures
An exception allows practitioners to bill twice in a single month under two specific conditions outlined in the payment criteria. The first applies when an injury occurs on or before the 15th day of the month.
The second applies to patients continuing treatment from the previous month whose care concludes between the 1st and 15th of the current month due to healing, treatment suspension, or transfer to another clinic.
