What kaigo means
Kaigo (介護) is the Japanese word for long-term care. It means everyday help for an older or disabled person with bathing and meals. It also covers toileting, moving, and supervision. The two characters mean roughly "to stand by and assist" (介) and "to protect" (護). In English it is usually translated as long-term care or nursing care.
Kaigo is not the same as kango (看護), which is nursing by licensed nurses. Nor is it iryou (医療), which is medical treatment. The difference matters because kaigo is paid for by long-term care insurance (kaigo hoken, 介護保険). Medical care runs through health insurance instead.
You will meet the word in compounds like these:
- youkaigo (要介護): needing care
- kaigo shisetsu (介護施設): care facility
- kaigo fukushishi (介護福祉士): certified care worker
The terms below are the ones families meet most often.
The system
介護（kaigo）: long-term care
Help with daily living for an older or disabled person: bathing, eating, toileting, moving, and supervision. Not the same as kango (看護), which is nursing. The word behind every term below.
介護保険（kaigo hoken）: long-term care insurance
Japan's public care insurance: premiums from age 40, services after certification, municipally run.
要介護認定（youkaigo nintei）: care-need certification
The municipality's determination of support or care needs. Once approved, certification takes effect from the application date; ask about a provisional care plan if help is needed sooner.
要支援1–2（youshien）: support levels 1–2
Lighter certification levels for largely independent people needing preventive support.
要介護1–5（youkaigo）: care levels 1–5
The five care-need levels, from partial daily assistance (1) to near-total care (5). Sets the monthly coverage limit.
認定調査（nintei chousa）: assessment visit
The home interview measuring daily-life difficulty for certification. Concrete examples matter more than stoicism.
主治医意見書（shujii ikensho）: doctor's opinion
The physician's report required for certification, prepared by the parent's regular doctor.
区分変更（kubun henkou）: level change request
Re-assessment request when needs change mid-certification, commonly after hospitalization.
ケアプラン（care plan）: care plan
The service plan a care manager builds within the certified level's monthly limit.
単位（tan'i）: units
The currency of covered services; each service costs units against the level's monthly allowance.
The people
ケアマネジャー（care manager / kea mane）: care manager
Plans and coordinates covered services after certification, at no user charge. Works in Japanese.
地域包括支援センター（chiiki houkatsu shien center）: community support center
The free municipal consultation window for everything elderly. The first call in most situations.
ホームヘルパー（home helper）: home-care worker
Visiting care staff for personal care and defined daily-life support under a care plan.
医療ソーシャルワーカー（MSW）: medical social worker
The hospital's discharge and welfare coordinator; the person to find in week one of any admission.
地域連携室（chiiki renkei shitsu）: discharge planning office
The hospital department that manages discharge timing and destinations.
民生委員（minsei iin）: welfare commissioner
Volunteer neighborhood welfare contacts who quietly watch over older residents.
社会福祉協議会（shakyou）: social welfare council
Local welfare organizations running volunteer services, including daily money management help.
ヤングケアラー（young carer）: young carer
A child or young person carrying adult-sized care duties; formally recognized, with support routes.
Services at home
訪問介護（houmon kaigo）: home-visit care
Covered visits for personal care and defined housework. Task-based, not companionship.
訪問看護（houmon kango）: home-visit nursing
Medical care at home under a doctor's instruction: wounds, medication, condition monitoring.
訪問入浴（houmon nyuyoku）: home-visit bathing
A crew brings a portable tub for a full bath at the bedside. No Western equivalent.
デイサービス（day service）: day service
Daytime center with bathing, meals, and activities. The workhorse of social contact and caregiver relief.
デイケア（day care / tsuusho riha）: day rehabilitation
Day program centered on rehabilitation, run with medical staff.
ショートステイ（short stay）: short stay (respite)
Facility stays from days to about two weeks: respite, recovery, and a gentle facility rehearsal.
定期巡回・随時対応（teiki junkai）: patrol and on-call care
Multiple short visits day and night plus a 24-hour response line. The covered answer to round-the-clock need.
福祉用具貸与（fukushi yougu taiyo）: equipment rental
Covered rental of beds, walkers, rails, and wandering sensors through the care plan.
住宅改修（juutaku kaishuu）: home modification subsidy
Covered handrails, step elimination, and bathroom changes, commonly up to ¥200,000 per home.
介護タクシー（kaigo taxi）: care taxi
Wheelchair-capable taxis with care-trained drivers, booked ahead, mostly private-pay.
移乗介助（ijou kaijo）: transfer assistance
Helping a person move from one surface to another: bed to wheelchair, wheelchair to toilet, seat to car. The moment most falls happen.
移動介助（idou kaijo）: mobility assistance
Helping a person get from one place to another: steadying a walk, pushing a wheelchair, managing stairs. Transfer (ijou) is getting on and off; mobility (idou) is getting there.
Facilities and housing
特別養護老人ホーム（tokuyou）: special nursing home
Publicly oriented, lower cost, generally care level 3+ for new admission, often wait-listed.
介護老人保健施設（rouken）: geriatric health facility
Rehabilitation-focused transitional stays, typically after hospitalization. Not a permanent home.
介護医療院（kaigo iryouin）: care medical facility
Long-term facilities for people whose needs are heavily medical as well as care.
グループホーム（group home）: dementia group home
Small dementia-care units, usually requiring residency in the same municipality.
有料老人ホーム（yuuryou roujin home）: paid elderly home
Private homes from modest to luxury. Care-staffed (kaigo-tsuki) or residential (juutakugata) with external care.
サ高住（sakouju）: serviced senior housing
Barrier-free rentals with monitoring and consultation; care arranged externally. Japan's assisted-living layer.
重要事項説明書（juuyou jikou setsumeisho）: disclosure document
The mandatory facility disclosure: real costs, staffing, and exit conditions. Read before touring.
身元保証人（mimoto hoshounin）: guarantor
The personal guarantor hospitals and facilities commonly require; services exist where no family is local.
Money
自己負担（jiko futan）: co-payment
The user's 10–30% share of covered service costs, set by income.
高額介護サービス費（kougaku kaigo service hi）: high-cost care refund
Refunds co-payments above income-tied monthly ceilings. Applies automatically or by application.
限度額適用認定証（gendogaku nintei-shou）: limit application certificate
Caps hospital bills at the income ceiling at the payment window instead of by later refund.
差額ベッド代（sagaku bed dai）: private room charge
Hospital charges for private rooms; refusable in principle when hospital-initiated rather than requested.
成年後見制度（seinen kouken）: adult guardianship
Court-appointed authority for people who can no longer decide; months to set up, professionally supervised.
任意後見（nin'i kouken）: voluntary guardianship
Notarized in advance while capable, naming who will act later. Japan's nearest thing to a durable POA.
家族信託（kazoku shintaku）: family trust
Contract placing assets under a family member's management; flexible, professionally drafted.
日常生活自立支援事業（nichijou seikatsu jiritsu shien）: daily money management service
Welfare-council help with bills and banking for people with declining judgment.
Medical and end of life
かかりつけ医（kakaritsuke-i）: regular doctor
The family physician whose opinion anchors certification and whose voice persuades parents.
訪問診療（houmon shinryou）: home medical visits
Scheduled doctor visits at home for patients who struggle to travel; backed by 24-hour support clinics.
お薬手帳（okusuri techou）: medication notebook
The pocket medication record every pharmacy updates. The fastest answer to what is she taking.
認知症（ninchishou）: dementia
The umbrella diagnosis behind much of elder care; early support teams exist in most municipalities.
徘徊（haikai）: wandering
Dementia-related leaving and getting lost; municipal registries and covered sensors address it.
看取り（mitori）: end-of-life care
Care through dying, at home or in facilities that accept it. Ask facilities directly about their mitori policy.
死亡診断書（shibou shindansho）: death certificate
The doctor's certificate that starts all post-death procedures.
死後事務委任契約（shigo jimu inin）: post-death affairs mandate
A contract arranging the practical steps after death when no family member is nearby.
How to use this page
Two meetings are where these words arrive at speed: the home assessment for certification, and the first care-plan meeting with the care manager. Bookmark the page for both, and link to it freely. Each of the 54 terms also has its own page with practical context.
If you are starting from zero, read the long-term care insurance guide first and keep this open beside it. Definitions are general orientation and rules vary by municipality; our editorial policy explains how we source and correct content.