Medical website advertising guidelines in Japan – building a site that complies

Why the guidelines apply to medical websites

Since the revised Medical Care Act took effect in June 2018, websites of hospitals, clinics and dental practices are treated as advertising. Before that, a website counted as information patients looked up themselves; now the guidelines apply to it as well.

A web monitoring program run on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare checks medical websites, and clinics with problematic wording are asked to correct it. If nothing changes, administrative guidance, correction orders or penalties can follow. The rules reach further than the main website:

• Your website: home page, treatment pages, price lists, doctor profiles, the director's blog
• Ads and landing pages: Google Ads and Meta Ads copy and the pages they link to
• Social media: posts about treatments on the clinic's own Instagram or LINE account
• Paid listings: sponsored articles and comparison-site pages the clinic pays for

The medical institution is responsible for what is published. Even if an agency builds the site, keep an overview of which page says what. A good first step is one list of your site pages, social accounts and running ads.

Wording to avoid on a medical website

The guidelines prohibit wording that could keep patients from making an informed choice. These are the cases that come up most often:

• False claims: "guaranteed cure", "completely safe", "totally painless"
• Superiority claims: "No. 1 in the area", "best in Japan", "cheaper than other clinics"
• Exaggeration: "cutting-edge" or "top technique" without evidence, retouched or effect-boosting images
• Patient testimonials: patients' own impressions of a treatment and its results
• Before-and-after photos: case photos without details on treatment, cost and risks
• Undignified promotion: "half price this month only", "first 10 patients" and similar price or deadline pressure

Easy to miss: quoting ratings from review sites or Google reviews, mentioning celebrity patients, and old blog posts with outdated phrasing. During a renewal, reread the pages you keep with the same checklist you use for new ones.

The four conditions for detailed and self-pay pages

Medical advertising in Japan is limited to a defined set of items, such as departments, opening hours and doctors' careers. Websites can show more detailed information when four conditions are met – called 限定解除, the lifting of the restriction:

• The site shows information that patients seek out on their own
• Contact details for questions about the content (phone, email) are listed
• For self-pay (自由診療) treatment, the usual treatment content and cost are stated
• For self-pay treatment, the main risks and side effects are stated

Pages on implants, orthodontics, aesthetic treatments or private checkups should show the treatment steps, a typical cost (total or per session), duration and main risks on the same page, where readers will see them. Unapproved drugs or devices need extra statements, such as the fact that they are unapproved in Japan and how they were obtained. Dental practices with a lot of self-pay work can also read dental website design.

How to plan a compliant medical website

Building the guidelines into the structure from the start is far easier than fixing copy at the end. We check these points in order:

• Core facts: departments, hours, closed days, address and access, all accurate and consistent
• Doctor profiles: only factual careers and qualifications; specialist titles checked against what may be advertised
• Treatment page template: fixed fields for content, cost, duration, risks and contact on every self-pay page
• Photos: real photos of the clinic and equipment; case photos always with the required details
• Pre-launch wording check: every page and every ad landing page read against the list of prohibited wording
• Regular review: a full check at least once a year and whenever prices or treatments change

The guidelines and the ministry's Q&A are revised from time to time, so check the latest version before launch and ask your local public health center about wording you are unsure of. For page structure by practice size, see clinic website design, and for multiple departments and recruiting, hospital website design.

Staying within the rules and still standing out

The rules leave plenty to say. Clear, factual information is what reassures first-time patients most:

• The director's approach to care, written in their own words
• The visit step by step, from reception to payment, with photos
• A simple table comparing insured and self-pay treatment with typical costs
• Answers to pre-visit worries: what to bring, parking, accessibility
• Booking and call buttons placed where they are easy to tap on a phone

Many patients find clinics through map search, so keep the hours and photos in your Google Business Profile in line with the website. A solid FAQ page also cuts down on routine phone calls.

How UNANOBO builds medical websites: structure and copy in a free demo

Before you commit, UNANOBO builds a free demo website from your clinic's information and brand. You see the structure planned around the guidelines, the self-pay page template and draft copy on a real screen, on computer and phone.

The process is free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles every project personally, from the first demo to updates and marketing after launch, and everything runs by message in Japanese or English. Final decisions on wording stay with your clinic, based on the latest guidelines – you receive a checklist of points to review.