Japan’s pre-entry tuberculosis screening (JPETS): who needs a TB certificate, when to get it, and Indonesia from January 2027

1. What is Japan’s pre-entry TB screening?

Japan’s Pre-Entry Tuberculosis Screening (JPETS) is run jointly by the Immigration Services Agency (ISA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). Its aim is to prevent TB from being brought into Japan by people who come to live here from countries with a high number of TB cases.

Under Japan’s Immigration Control Act, a person with active TB is, as a rule, not allowed to land in Japan. JPETS checks this before you travel. You see a doctor and have a chest X-ray at a designated clinic in your country. If you are found not to have active TB, the clinic issues a certificate (in Japanese, kekkaku hi-hatsubyo shomeisho). You then submit it with your COE or visa application.

2. Which nationalities are covered, and from when

JPETS is being introduced one country at a time. For each country, there is a date when designated clinics start accepting health checks, and a later date from which the certificate is required.

3. Who must submit the certificate, and who is exempt

Who is covered

You are covered if you hold the nationality of one of the countries above and plan to enter Japan as a mid- to long-term resident. In general, this means anyone coming to live in Japan with a status of residence such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Student, Dependent or Spouse or Child of Japanese National. Digital nomads (Designated Activities) and their spouses and children are also covered.

You are not covered if you come as a Temporary Visitor, receive a period of stay of 3 months or less, or come with a Diplomat or Official status. People who hold a re-entry permit (including a special re-entry permit) and return to Japan with it are also outside the program.

Exemptions for now

For the time being, people who come under programs that already require a pre-entry health check with a chest X-ray are exempt. These include:

• Specified Skilled Workers
• Nurse and care worker candidates under an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
• JET Programme participants, JICA trainees, JDS scholarship students, Japan Foundation mid- to long-term invitees, and government scholarship students recommended by a Japanese embassy
• Designated Activities for preparing to work in specified motor vehicle transportation, and the domestic support workers program in National Strategic Special Zones

The MHLW notes that, at clinics that offer it, the chest X-ray can be done at the same visit as the health check for the new Employment for Skill Development (Ikusei Shuro) system, which starts in April 2027.

If you live outside your home country

The screening is based on where you live now, not only on nationality. If you hold one of the covered nationalities but currently live in another country (for example, a Vietnamese national living in Australia), you do not need the certificate, regardless of how long you have lived there. Instead, you submit a copy (a scan is accepted) of your residence permit or similar document issued by the country where you live, together with a one-page explanation form published by the ISA (available in Japanese and English).

If you already live in Japan

JPETS is a requirement for COE and visa applications made before entering Japan. You do not need the certificate for a change of status or an extension of period of stay filed in Japan. However, if your status of residence ends because you leave Japan without a re-entry permit, or because you do not return before your re-entry permit or special re-entry permit expires, you will need a new COE to live in Japan again. The certificate is then required, even if you lived in Japan before.

4. When to submit it: COE application or visa application

• If you enter with a COE (the usual route): the certificate is submitted with the COE application to the regional immigration bureau in Japan. In most cases, your employer, school or family member in Japan files this application, so you will need to send them the certificate. A copy, including a scanned file, is accepted.
• If you apply for a visa directly at a Japanese embassy or consulate without a COE: the certificate is submitted with the visa application.

For how the COE and the visa fit together, see How to enter Japan with a COE and the difference between a visa and a status of residence.

5. Timing your health check: the 180-day validity

The certificate is valid for 180 days from the date of the chest X-ray. It is valid for only 90 days if you do not have active TB but either:

• someone in your household was diagnosed with infectious pulmonary TB within 2 months before your X-ray, or
• within 2 months after your X-ray, you spent several days or more in a closed space with someone diagnosed with infectious pulmonary TB.

What matters is that the certificate is valid on the day the COE application is filed. Once the COE has been applied for with a valid certificate, you do not need a valid or new certificate at the later visa application or at landing, even if 180 days have passed by then. If you apply for a visa without a COE, the certificate must be valid on the day of the visa application.

6. Children, pregnancy and past TB

• Children are covered too. For children under 5, a chest X-ray is taken only if their history or the examination suggests active TB. Otherwise, a tuberculin skin test or a blood test (IGRA) is used.
• Pregnant women are covered. Because a chest X-ray carries some risk to the baby, especially early in pregnancy, the applicant may choose either to postpone the check until after giving birth, or to have the X-ray with a protective shield. This is the applicant’s own decision.
• Past TB: if you have finished treatment and the designated clinic confirms that you do not have active TB, the certificate can be issued.
• If TB is found: the certificate is not issued. Follow your doctor’s treatment. After the treatment is completed, you can be screened again at a designated clinic, with a TB treatment completion report in the required format.

A sputum test may also be done at the doctor’s discretion, for example if the X-ray shows an abnormality.

7. Practical points

• Designated clinics only. A certificate or test result from any other hospital or clinic is not accepted, even if it shows no TB. The MHLW publishes the list of designated clinics for each country.
• Bring your passport to the clinic. It is used to confirm your identity.
• Keep the original certificate. You may be asked to show it after you arrive in Japan.
• Cost: the applicant pays. The fee and the time needed differ by clinic, so check with the clinic directly.
• If you cannot submit the certificate because of unavoidable special circumstances, you submit a written explanation (a form published by the ISA) instead. Without the certificate or an accepted reason, the COE application will, as a rule, be refused. Whether a reason is accepted is decided case by case, and the certificate is then expected at the visa stage.

If you would like us to handle your application, send us an inquiry. We will tell you whether we can help and which of our services fits. For questions about your own situation, see our Written Answer.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for general information only and is not legal or medical advice on any individual case. The information is based on sources available as of October 30, 2026. The dates for Indonesia are planned dates and may change; dates for Myanmar and China had not been announced at the time of writing. Laws, guidelines and their application may change without notice. TKG Immigration Consulting Office accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of this information. In case of any difference between our English descriptions and the original Japanese texts, the Japanese texts prevail.