General Information
Brief Summary
- The Clinical Observership Program offers a unique opportunity to learn through observation in clinics, ward rounds, surgeries, laboratories, and conferences at a Japanese university hospital.
- Juntendo University Main Hospital, where the program takes place, is located in the center of Tokyo.
- The Main Hospital is part of Juntendo University Hongo-Ochanomizu Campus (drone video).
- Juntendo University Hospital network is the largest university hospital network in Japan.
- Main Hospital Characteristics:
- on average over 1 million outpatients and 300,000 inpatients per year
- over 1,051 hospital beds
- Many patients with rare medical conditions come to Juntendo University Main Hospital
- Applicants should review the links listed in the opening file before applying to ensure the focus of the department they wish to apply to matches their interests.
- People who do attend the program will most likely have the chance to meet other international students and doctors from around the world while in Juntendo University.
- Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine is a six year medical program, international students may have the chance to rotate with 4th, 5th, and 6th year Juntendo University medical students.
- Previous clinical observers have provided brief descriptions of their experience in Juntendo University Clinical Observership Program.
- Photo collages of clinical observers who have attended over the last couple of years are available.
- Affiliations of Clinical Observers from the
- Numbers of participants in previous academic years:
| 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
| 93 | 97 | 196 | 261 | 293 | 377 | 335 | 15 | 27 | 145 | 297 |
- Juntendo University International Center (JUIC, juic@juntendo.ac.jp) is the administrative office that responsible for the Clinical Observership Program application procedures.
Openings
- Openings are listed in the opening file in the top page of the Clinical Observership Porogram.
- File needs to be opened with Microsoft Excel to be viewed correctly.
- Juntendo University is able to accept a maximum of 25 applicants at one time.
- Exceptions:
- Department of General Medicine will only be able to accept students thinking about becoming medical doctors in Japan and interested in applying to the International Medical Practitioners Education Program between July 2025 - September 2025.
- Department of Neurology only accepts applicants for two-week periods and the periods must align with previously accepted applications or be during a period where the department has not yet accepted other applications.
Department Guide
- On the application page there is an Openings and Department Guide file.
- The Openings will appear when opening the file, the Department Guide is on a separate sheet.
- The Department Guide lists departments applicants may apply to and includes department links, program content, cases departments specialize in, notices, and cautions related to application department statements.
- Applicants should refer to the Department Guide before applying.
Time Period, Schedules, and Public Holidays
- Between one academic year
- the minimum program length of a program is one week and
- the maximum program length is eight weeks
- Check the opening file for the length of the program that each department offers. In the case a department does not list a time period, applicants may apply to departments for a period between 1 - 8 weeks.
- Schedules will be based on Monday to Friday schedules.
- Applicants should not apply until after their schedules are confirmed. Juntendo University may not be able to accommodate time change requests after applicants are accepted.
- Applicants should review the academic calendar to see if national holidays will occur during their program. Observerships will not take place on public holidays.
- The following extended public holidays may potentially affect the availability of programs:
- New Year’s: the last week of December & the first week of January
- Applying for a program that will extend between the end of December and the beginning of January is not possible.
- Golden Week: May 5 - 9
- Many faculty members take summer vacations in August. Departments may experience a shortage of staff this month. The number of cases departments have may be less than usual.
- New Year’s: the last week of December & the first week of January
Location and Registration
- Juntendo University Main Hospital (3-1-3 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8431, JAPAN) is the location of the Clinical Observership Program.
- Clinical Observers will be registered in the Faculty of Medicine (2-1-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, JAPAN) as Clinical Observers.
- Clinical observers will not become registered in Juntendo University as students or faculty members.
Accreditation
- Japan University Accreditation Association (in Japanese)
- Japan Council for Quality Health Care (Main Hospital Accreditation, in Japanese, on the bottom of the page this link connects to)
- Joint Commissions International
- World Federation for Medical Education and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (in relation to the ECFMG and USMLE)
Tuition
- Medical Students: no tuition fee
- Residents and Doctors: 2,000 JPY per day
- There are no scholarships or financial aid associated with the program.
Visas and Border Measures
- Juntendo University International Center will provide accepted applicants with documents to apply for a visa.
- Refer to the following Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan website for information about visa exemptions.
- Doctors coming to Japan as part of the Working Holiday Programme are not able to participate in the Clinical Observership Program.
Cautions
- Clinical observers will be subjected to the policies of Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine.
- Japanese law prevents anyone without a Japanese medical license from doing anything that may affect the health of a patient. Clinical observers will not be able to conduct any medical procedures that may affect the health of a patient. The program is an observational experience.
- Departments may not be able to provide an explanation of every medical procedure and every surgical step. Applicants without a prior knowledge of the department they hope to attend may be limited in what they may be able to learn during the program.
- Juntendo University is a Japanese hospital and while many of the doctors speak English, translations of everything will not be available. Applicants should be self motivated and ready to overcome potential language barriers they may face.
- Juntendo University reserves the right to cancel any program due to force majeure or any circumstances beyond the control of Juntendo University. Juntendo
University will not provide compensation for any loss caused by force majeure or any circumstances beyond the control of Juntendo University.
- Force majeure means any event caused by occurrences beyond a party’s reasonable control, including, but not limited to, acts of God, fire or flood, earthquake, war, terrorism, labor dispute, pandemic, system malfunction, governmental regulations, policies or actions enacted or taken subsequent to execution of the pledge, or any labor, telecommunications or other utility shortage, outage or curtailment.
International Medical Practitioners Education Program (国際医療人養成プログラム)
- The International Medical Practitioners Education Program (国際医療人養成プログラム) is a program to help international doctors obtain a medical license in Japan.
- Medical students or international doctors hoping to enter the International Medical Practitioners Education Program may want to apply to the Department of General Medicine.
- The supervisor of the Department of General Medicine Clinical Observership Program also leads the International Medical Practitioners Education Program.
- Applying to the Department of General Medicine may help students and doctors prepare for the International Medical Practitioners Education Program and learn more about how to become a doctor in Japan.
- The Department of General Medicine also has international doctors in their department. Clinical observers will have the chance to meet international doctors who are pursuing and have obtained a Japanese medical license.
Application Information
Application Process Flow
- Who may apply?
- Applicants who meet the application requirements.
- When may I apply?
- Application Period: 120 - 305 days before the desired start period
- Where may I apply?
- View the openings.
- The opening file lists:
- departments available
- department period lengths
- department links
- What do I do next?
- Prepare and submit the required items to Juntendo University International Center.
- Juntendo University International Center will:
- Review the required items.
- Submit completed applications.
- Inform applications of the results. Applications usually take around two weeks to review.
- Help accepted applicants prepare for the start of their program .
Application Period
- All applicants must have required application items 1-12 confirmed 120 days before their desired start date to apply
- Applicants should submit the required application items prior to the deadline to ensure their application will be ready before the deadline.
- Applications submitted more than 305 days prior to the desired start date will not be accepted.
Application Related Emails
- Applicants should keep emails brief, to the point, and easy to understand.
Number of Applicants
- Between one academic year, 1 April - 31 March, Juntendo University will not be able to accept more than:
- 2 students and doctors from one institution
- 4 students and 4 doctors from one partner institution
- Juntendo University is not able to accept any more students from the following universities between 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026:
- China Medical University, Taiwan
- Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
- Griffith University, Australia
- Heidelberg University, Germany
- Imperial College London, United Kingdom
- Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Queen Mary, University of London, United Kingdom
- St. George's University of London, United Kingdom
- Taipei Medical University, Taiwan
- University College London, United Kingdom
- University of Adelaide, Australia
- University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
- University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- University of Hong Kong, China
- University of Keel, United Kingdom
- University of Malta, Malta
- University of Manchester, United Kingdom
- University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
- University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
- University of the Philippines Manila, Philippines
- University Paris Cite, France
- Applications will be accepted in the order applications are submitted.
- Juntendo University will not decline to review an application sent directly from an applicant unless the university of the applicant plans to nominate students.
- Applicants applying in groups of two or more may want to check the number of remaining opening for their institution before submitting their applications.
Application Requirements
Affiliation
For medical students
Language Requirement
Additional Requirements
For students who plan to apply to the International Medical Practitioners Education Program
- Students registered in a medical school and residents or doctors employed by a health care facility.
- Applicants should refer to the Number of Applicants section to see if Juntendo University is able to accept additional applicants from their institution.
For medical students
- Students in a 5 or 6 year medical program must be at least in their 4th year to apply.
- Students in a 4 year medical program must be at least in their 3rd year to apply.
- Proof the applicant has studied material relating to the department he or she wishes to apply to.
- Proof the applicant has completed an observership, clerkship, or elective in a health care facility.
Language Requirement
- Applicants enrolled, training, or working in an institution in a country where English is the official language are exempt from this requirement.
- Applicants enrolled in a medical school in a country where English is not the official language, but English is the medium of communication at the medical school are not exempt from the language requirement.
- Applicants who must meet the language requirement should submit one of the following tests:
- EF SET 90 minute test
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
- Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
- There is no minimum for the language test scores.
- Departments will review the test scores to determine whether they will be able to supervise the applicant.
Additional Requirements
- Applicants should make sure the Juntendo University Clinical Observership Program meets the requirements of their institution.
- For example if the institution of the applicant does not approve an observational program or requires a program more than eight weeks they will not be able to apply if they want to receive credit from their university.
For students who plan to apply to the International Medical Practitioners Education Program
- If students intend to apply to the International Medical Practitioners Education Program and Juntendo University is not able to accept any more students from their university as listed in the Number of Applicants section, they may apply to the Department of General Medicine.
Additional Department Requirements
- Using the department requirement template may be the best way to meet the following additional department requirements.
- Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine - medical students must submit proof they have attended electives at their home university with good attendance and a good attitude.
- Department of Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine - medical students must submit proof they have attended a cardiovascular medicine elective prior to coming to Juntendo University in addition to proof they have studied material relating to the department.
Application Submission
- Applicants should send all required items to Juntendo University International Center: juic@juntendo.ac.jp
- Applicants should send application items as email attachments.
- Applicants should not send application items as part of Google Drive or any other cloud storage service.
- JUIC will check applications after submission and inform the applicant if there are any updates needed. After JUIC confirms the application items, departments will review applications.
- CAUTION: There may be delays in the latest information being listed on the application website, such as openings and institutions that have already reached their maximum acceptance limit.
Application Review Process
- The application review process takes on average two weeks to complete; however, the time each department takes to review an application varies.
- Applicants may contact the International Center about the status of their application if the process takes more than two weeks.
- Juntendo University will not be responsible for meeting any deadlines imposed by an applicant.
- Applicants whose university or hospital requires them to receive a letter of acceptance before a designated time should submit their application well before their deadline.
- Applicants who will be applying with their classmates or colleagues for an observership that will take place over the same time period should submit their applications on the same day. Applicants should list who they are applying with when they submit their application. This will help the department review the applications at one time and speed up the application process.
Required Items
Application
- Submit the application as an excel file. Do not submit the application file as a PDF.
- Academic year: if the applicant is a medical student and will have finished an academic year prior to their desired start date, but will not have started their new academic year at the time of their desired start date, enter the academic year the applicant will be heading into in the application.
- Desired departments: applicants may apply to attend multiple departments during the program.
Passport
- A copy of the page(s) in their passport that includes their name, their photo, their passport number, their passport expiration date, and the place the passport was issued.
Personal Photo
- A photo that may be potentially used as your ID photo, in the case the applicant is accepted.
- Submit as a JPEG, JPG, or PNG file.
- Applicants should not have dyed hair and/or nose piercings in the photo, as both are prohibited during the actual program.
Language Test Score
- For applicants from countries where English is not the official language: English and/or Japanese Proficiency Test Score(s) from one of the following tests:
- EF SET 90 minute Test
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
- Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
- Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC)
- For more information about the requirement refer to the Language Requirement in the Application Requirements section.
Enrollment, Resident, and Medical Doctor Certificates
- For medical students: enrollment certificate
- For residents: resident certificate
- For medical doctors: employment certificate
For Students: Proof of Department Material Studied
- For medical students: Proof the applicant has studied material relating to the department he or she wishes to apply to.
- Students must submit the department and elective requirement template to meet this requirement.
- In the past, students who did not study material relating to the departments they attended the Clinical Observership Program were limited in what they were able to learn during the program and doctors had a very difficult time supervising the students. Doctors are not able to teach students basic clinical material they are expected to know prior to attending the Clinical Observership Program. This requirement is in place to help ensure students are able to maximize their time at Juntendo University.
- Students who have not completed this requirement at the time of the application, but will complete the requirement before their desired start date may apply to the Clinical Observership Program as long as they provide proof they will complete the requirement before the desired start of the Clinical Observership Program.
For Students: Proof of Elective Completed
- For medical students: Proof the applicant has completed an observership, clerkship, or elective in a health care facility.
- Students must submit the department and elective requirement template to meet this requirement.
- Students applying to surgical departments must submit proof they have completed a surgical elective.
- Students who have not completed this requirement at the time of the application, but will complete the requirement before their desired start date may apply to the Clinical Observership Program as long as they provide proof they will complete the requirement before the desired start of the Clinical Observership Program.
Contact Person
- Applicants must have an contact person from their registered institution to attend the Clinical Observership Program.
- The institution of the applicant must authorize the contact person information of the applicant.
- The letter of recommendation may include contact person information.
- For example, if the applicant contracts COVID-19 while in Juntendo University, Juntendo University will email the contact person about the status of the applicant.
Letter of Recommendation
- The International Center advises applicants to submit the letter of recommendation template to meet this requirement.
- Letters of recommendations must be written on the letter head of the applicant’s institution.
- Letter of recommendations must be from full-time faculty or doctors at the institution the applicant is affiliated with.
- For medical students: a letter of recommendation must be from a university official but does not need to be signed by the dean of the medical school or the president of the university.
- For medical doctors or residents: a letter of recommendation must be from a senior doctor at the health care organization where the doctor or resident is employed.
- Applicants may include the emergency contact information in the letter of recommendation.
- Letters of recommendations may be viewed by multiple people.
- Letters of recommendations may be addressed to “To Whom it May Concern”.
Pledge
- Click on the following link to download the pledge.
Health Examination Certificate
- Click on the following link to download a template of the health examination certificate.
- A statement from the applicant’s healthcare provider stating the applicant is in good health and fit to travel.
- Needs to be within a year of the start date of the applicant.
Immunization Requirements
- Applicants must submit the Juntendo University Immunization Requirements form to meet this requirement.
- Click on the following immunization requirements links for more information:
- Immunization Requirements Form
- Immunization Requirements General Information
- Immunization Requirements Flow Chart: Measles, Rubella, and Varicella
- Immunization Requirements Flow Chart: Hepatitis B
- Immunization Requirements Flow Chart: Tuberculosis
- Immunization Requirements Flow Chart: Influenza
- Immunization Requirements Completed Form Examples
- WARNINGS:
Applicants whose observership will require them to enter the hospital must meet all of the immunization requirements to complete an observership at Juntendo University. There are no exceptions. - Immunization requirements must be approved by a healthcare provider.
- Applicants should not consider applying to the Juntendo University Clinical Observership Program if they believe they will have difficulty completing the immunization requirements.
- The time each applicant will need to complete the immunization requirements may vary. Applicants should review all of the possibilities associated with immunization requirements before applying.
- Applicants who do not initially meet the immunization requirements must take the necessary steps to complete the immunization requirements.
- Applicants who will not be able to complete the immunization requirements before the application deadline may apply as long as they complete the immunization requirement pledge that is inside of the application excel file. The pledge must indicate how the applicant will be able to complete the immunization requirements prior to arrival.
- Applicants who have their applications processed before meeting all of the immunization requirements may be accepted and may receive a letter of acceptance; however, accepted applicants will not be able to participate in the Clinical Observership Program unless they complete all of the immunization requirements. Letter of acceptances will be voided in the case the immunization requirements are not met before the start of the Clinical Observership Program.
- Accepted applicants should submit the immunization requirements as early as possible to ensure confirmation of the immunization requirements.
- In the event an accepted applicant does not meet the immunization requirements prior to the start of the program and is not able to attend the Clinical Observership Program, Juntendo University will not be responsible for any expenses or burdens the accepted applicant may experience as a result of not being able to attend the Clinical Observership Program.
Personal Health Insurance
- Applicants do not need to submit proof of insurance.
- Applicants may acquire insurance after being accepted.
- Accepted applicants should acquire personal health insurance and may want to acquire liability insurance for their time in Japan.
- Clinical observers who arrive in Japan without health insurance will be responsible for all of their medical costs.
- Juntendo University will not be responsible for any expenses clinical observers may incur.
Common Problems with the Required Items
Labelling the Required Items
- There are a number of required items.
- Applicants should label their required items using the following format when they submit their applications to ensure no parts of their application are overlooked:
- Name (as displayed on your passport) – name of the document
- Firstname Lastname – Application
- Firstname Lastname – Passport
- Firstname Lastname – Photo
- Firstname Lastname – English Requirement Test Name
- Firstname Lastname – Enrollment Certificate or Employment Certificate
- Firstname Lastname – Department Requirement
- Firstname Lastname – Clinical Experience
- Firstname Lastname – Letter of Recommendation
- Firstname Lastname – Pledge
- Firstname Lastname – Health Examination Certificate
- Firstname Lastname – Immunization Requirements
- Firstname Lastname – Insurance
- Test
Things to Know Prior to Arrival
Letter of Acceptance & Certificate of Completion
- Accepted applicants will receive a letter of acceptance.
- Clinical observers who complete the program will receive a certificate of completion.
Short Term Visas
- Clinical observers will need to apply for a short term visa to enter Japan.
- Short term visa exemptions exist for nationals whose country meets the qualifications listed on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) website.
- Applicants who do not have visa exemption will need to go to the Japanese Embassy or Consulate in their country to apply for a visa.
- Clinical observers whose country does not have a visa exemption agreement with Japan may contact Juntendo University International Center about receiving the necessary short term visa forms.
Housing
- Juntendo University is not able to provide housing.
- There are a number housing options not associated with Juntendo University available in Tokyo, ranging from student dormitories, apartments for rent, hotels, and capsule hotels.
- Previous clinical observers have successfully found housing on their own outside of the university.
- Accepted applicants will receive a list of places previous clinical observers recommend.
Transportation & Personal Expenses
- Clinical observers are responsible for their own transportation and personal expenses.
Healthcare Seminar
- Medical students who attend the program will have the opportunity to attend a Healthcare Seminar, where they will be able to learn and talk about the Japanese medical system in comparison to the medical system in their country. The class may include Japanese medical students and other clinical observers.
Facility Access
- Clinical observers will have access to the following facilities in Juntendo University:
Events
- Juntendo University International Center holds events for international students, staff, and faculty. Clinical observers are encouraged to join these events.
- To view a list of previous international student and researcher events please refer to the following link. Many clinical observers are pictured in the photos.