[4th Week of October 2026] Medical and Welfare Weekly Topics

We surveyed primary information from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and other sources published or updated between Monday, October 19, and Friday, October 23, 2026.

This week’s key developments include the selection of priority support areas for medical function reorganization in the Nishi-Iburi region of Hokkaido in the medical sector, discussions on home-visit services for the 2027 fiscal year nursing care remuneration revision in the nursing care sector, and the remuneration revision for the employment payment system for persons with disabilities and facility support/daily life care in the disability welfare sector.

In the disability welfare sector in particular, the service provision system in depopulated areas is also being discussed. We will organize the information by distinguishing between matters that have actually been decided and matters under consideration for future system revisions.

Weekly Topics in the Medical Field

Regional Medical Vision: Nishi-Iburi, Hokkaido Selected as a Priority Support Area

On October 22, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare selected new priority support areas to realize the regional medical vision.

In Hokkaido, the Nishi-Iburi vision area was selected, and Muroran City General Hospital, Steel Memorial Muroran Hospital, and Nikko Memorial Hospital were identified as target medical institutions for medical function reorganization and other measures.

In priority support areas, institutions can receive technical support such as data analysis from the national government and priority allocation of the Comprehensive Fund for Regional Medical and Nursing Care.

While this area selection is a decided matter, it does not mean that specific hospital mergers or bed reductions have been decided.

Publisher: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Publication Date: October 22, 2026
Source: Selection of Priority Support Areas for Realizing the Regional Medical Vision

Regional Medical Vision for Psychiatric Care: Reviewing Bed Functions and Vision Areas

On October 21, the 2nd Working Group on the Regional Medical Vision for Psychiatric Care was held.

The agenda for this meeting included vision areas for psychiatric care, regional medical vision coordination meetings, and bed functions.

Discussions are underway regarding how to organize necessary medical functions on a regional basis for psychiatric care and how to advance the division of roles among medical institutions.

While this is an important discussion for considering the reorganization of psychiatric beds and the medical provision system that supports community life, no specific bed reduction numbers or reorganization plans were decided at this meeting.

Publisher: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Meeting Date: October 21, 2026
Source: 2nd Working Group on the Regional Medical Vision for Psychiatric Care

Results of Physician Clinical Training Matching Published

On October 22, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare published the results of the 2026 fiscal year physician clinical training matching.

This determines the pairings between medical students, etc., who will begin clinical training from the 2027 fiscal year and the programs of training hospitals.

The physician clinical training matching is a system that determines pairings based on a certain algorithm, taking into account the preferences of both the training applicants and the hospitals.

This announcement concerns the matching results for training placements and is not a new policy change regarding measures for the regional maldistribution of physicians.

Publisher: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Publication Date: October 22, 2026
Source: FY2026 Physician Clinical Training Matching Results

Weekly Topics in the Nursing Care Field

FY2027 Nursing Care Remuneration Revision: Reviewing Home Care, Home Nursing, and In-Home Long-Term Care Support

On October 19, the 271st Meeting of the Social Security Council’s Nursing Care Benefit Expenses Subcommittee was held.

The services covered this time are six types: home care, home bathing care, home nursing, home rehabilitation, home medical care management guidance, and in-home long-term care support.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has released individual documents for each service and is proceeding with considerations for the FY2027 nursing care remuneration revision.

Home-based services are a vital foundation for supporting the daily lives of users at home. Moving forward, attention will be focused on how the realities of service provision systems and facility operations will be reflected in the remuneration system.

However, this meeting did not decide on an increase in basic remuneration for home care or the creation of new additions.

Publisher: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Meeting/Document Release Date: October 19, 2026
Source: Documents from the 271st Meeting of the Social Security Council’s Nursing Care Benefit Expenses Subcommittee

The important primary information confirmed this week in the nursing care field centered on the deliberations regarding the aforementioned nursing care remuneration revision.

Weekly Topics in the Disability Welfare Field

Reviewing the Employment Levy System for Persons with Disabilities and Support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

On October 21, the 144th Meeting of the Labor Policy Council’s Subcommittee on Employment of Persons with Disabilities was held.

The agenda for this meeting was the future of the employment levy system for persons with disabilities and the strengthening of support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The employment levy system for persons with disabilities is a mechanism that collects levies from companies that have not met the statutory employment rate and utilizes them for adjustment payments and subsidies for companies engaged in the employment of persons with disabilities.

In this review, the future of the system and the strengthening of corporate support are being addressed in an integrated manner.

To promote the employment of persons with disabilities, it is important not only to impose employment obligations on companies but also to have mechanisms in place to support employment management and workplace retention after hiring.

Note that no specific changes to levy amounts or corporate support have been decided.

Publisher: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Document Release Date: October 20, 2026
Meeting Date: October 21, 2026
Source: Documents from the 144th Meeting of the Labor Policy Council’s Subcommittee on Employment of Persons with Disabilities

Examining the service provision system for disability welfare in depopulated areas

On October 20, the 160th meeting of the Social Security Council’s Committee on Disability Welfare was held.

In addition to the status of discussions on the 2027 disability welfare remuneration revision, the materials for this meeting present concepts regarding specific regions in the field of disability welfare.

Specific regions refer to areas such as mountainous and rural areas or depopulated areas where it may become difficult to maintain the same service provision systems as before.

Materials were also presented regarding transitional special measures for medical services for self-reliance support.

In regions where depopulation is progressing, there are different conditions compared to urban areas, such as the number of users and the securing of support personnel. While designing a system that meets the actual circumstances of the region is important, it cannot be said that the applicable regions or requirements for new special measures have been finalized based on these materials alone.

Publisher: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Date of meeting/material release: October 20, 2026
Source: Materials from the 160th meeting of the Social Security Council’s Committee on Disability Welfare

2027 disability welfare remuneration revision, examining facility support and daily life care

On October 22, the 66th Disability Welfare Remuneration Revision Review Team meeting was held.

The subjects of this meeting were facility support, daily life care, short-term stay, and medical care for the disabled.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare released materials regarding the remuneration and standards for these four services.

While home-based services, employment-related services, and support for children with disabilities have been examined previously, this time the focus was on residential and daytime activity services.

Attention is focused on how the operational standards and remuneration systems for each service will be organized in the future.

However, this meeting was at the stage of consideration for the 2027 revision, and new remuneration unit prices or additional requirements have not been finalized.

Publisher: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Date of meeting/material release: October 22, 2026
Source: Materials from the 66th Disability Welfare Remuneration Revision Review Team

Summary of this week

In the fourth week of October 2026, movements conscious of depopulation and the maintenance of service provision systems were observed in the fields of medical care, nursing care, and disability welfare.

In the medical field, the Nishi-Iburi region of Hokkaido was selected as a priority support area and became a target for national support aimed at reorganizing medical functions. Discussions are also underway regarding regional medical provision systems for psychiatric care.

In the nursing care field, examinations of home-based services progressed toward the 2027 nursing care remuneration revision. The future of services that support home life, such as home help and visiting nursing, is drawing attention.

In disability welfare, discussions were held on the employment levy system for persons with disabilities, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, service provision systems in depopulated areas, and remuneration revisions for facility support.

The characteristic of this week is that, in addition to securing the volume of services, the challenge of how to maintain systems in accordance with the actual circumstances of regions and companies is emerging.

Furthermore, among the information confirmed this week, the selection of priority support areas for the regional medical vision is a finalized matter, but we have not confirmed finalized information regarding the new unit prices and additional requirements for the 2027 fiscal year nursing care remuneration and disability welfare remuneration.

#MedicalWelfare #NursingCareRemunerationRevision #DisabilityWelfareRemunerationRevision #EmploymentOfPersonsWithDisabilities #RegionalMedicalVision