How Vaccinations a Child Received in Ukraine Are Counted in Japan

When a family that has been vaccinating their child in Ukraine starts life in Japan, it often becomes unclear what to get next, and how the vaccinations already received in Ukraine will be treated. This is because the two countries differ in which vaccines are given and when.

This article covers Japan’s vaccination system, how vaccinations received in Ukraine are counted, the differences between the two countries’ schedules, and how to present records, based on what could be confirmed in September 2026 from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), the Children and Families Agency, and Ukraine’s Ministry of Health legislation, among other sources. This article does not make medical judgments about which vaccine to get or when. Always consult a doctor and the counter of the municipality where you live.

Japan’s “Routine Vaccinations” Are Administered by Municipalities

The core of children’s vaccination in Japan is “routine vaccination” (定期接種) under the Immunization Act. Article 5 of the Immunization Act provides that the head of a municipality must administer vaccinations to eligible people living in that municipality. According to MHLW, routine vaccinations for Category A diseases (A類疾病) are ones everyone eligible should receive, and if you receive it in the municipality where you live, it is covered by public funds. The recipient (or, for a child under 16, the parent or guardian) has a duty to make an effort to have it administered (an “obligation to make efforts,” not a strict legal duty; Article 9 of the same Act).

One thing to watch for is age. Routine vaccinations each have a set eligible age range. MHLW explains that a vaccination given to someone who missed the routine schedule or had no opportunity to receive it, given outside the eligible age range, becomes a “voluntary vaccination” (任意接種). The Immigration Services Agency of Japan’s Guidebook on Living and Working likewise states that vaccinations recommended by a municipality may be free, while a vaccination a person chooses to get on their own is paid out of pocket.

The other point is resident registration (住民登録). Saitama City, for example, explains that for a child who has moved from abroad, if they are registered as a resident of the city as of the vaccination date and fall within the eligible age range, they can receive the routine vaccination at public expense. Terms related to resident registration are compiled in a separate article.

Vaccinations Received in Ukraine Can Be Counted at a Doctor’s Judgment

The “Routine Vaccination Implementation Guidelines” (定期接種実施要領, revised September 1, 2026) that MHLW provides to municipalities includes the following passage.

Note that, in determining the number of doses, a vaccination received abroad or elsewhere may, based on a doctor’s judgment and the consent of the parent or guardian, be treated as counting toward the number of routine vaccination doses already received.

MHLW, “Routine Vaccination Implementation Guidelines,” Part 1, General Provisions, Item 8 (full text as revised September 1, 2026)

In other words, a vaccination received in Ukraine can sometimes be counted toward the number of routine vaccination doses received in Japan, provided there is a record, a doctor makes that judgment, and the parent or guardian consents. It is not counted automatically. This is why having a record showing what was received and when matters so much.

Saitama City advises families of children who have moved from abroad to prepare in the following order.

• Prepare the record of vaccinations received abroad.
• Check the type of vaccine written on the record, and add a note in Japanese.
• Consult a medical institution that administers routine vaccinations.

The “Foreign Language Vaccination Glossary” (updated January 29, 2026) from the Okayama Prefecture Vaccination Center, which Saitama City cites as a reference, has a Russian-language column but no Ukrainian-language column. A record written in Ukrainian may need to have vaccine names (brand names) and disease names converted into English or another language before it can be checked against such a glossary.

Lining Up the Two Countries’ Schedules

The table below lines up Japan’s routine vaccinations (the standard ages MHLW gives) against the age-based schedule in Ukraine’s “Calendar of Preventive Vaccinations” (Календар профілактичних щеплень в Україні). The Ukrainian schedule is the annex to Ministry of Health Order No. 595 (2011), in its current version as amended in 2025.

Three things stand out from this table.

First, some vaccines are given earlier in Ukraine than in Japan. BCG is given right after birth in Ukraine, versus the standard 5–8 months in Japan. A child born in Ukraine may already have received it before coming to Japan.

Second, some of Japan’s routine vaccinations do not appear on Ukraine’s age-based table. These are pneumococcal, rotavirus, varicella, and Japanese encephalitis. The child may have received these on a voluntary basis in Ukraine, so check the records. If not, whether it can be received as a routine vaccination in Japan depends on age.

Third, even for the same disease, the combination of vaccines used differs. Ukraine’s measles-rubella vaccination is a 3-in-1 combination that includes mumps, while Japan’s routine vaccination is MR (measles-rubella), with the mumps vaccine listed by MHLW as an example of a voluntary vaccination.

Ukraine’s schedule has been revised repeatedly in recent years. Because the table above reflects the current version, it would not be surprising if the age at which your child actually received a vaccine differs from the table. Showing the doctor the dates from the record itself is the most reliable approach.

How to Present Your Records

Ukraine’s Ministry of Health order (the regulation on organizing and conducting preventive vaccinations) requires vaccination records to be entered in a medical record such as the “Child Development History” (Form 112/о, Історія розвитку дитини), noting the vaccine’s brand name, manufacturer, dose, lot number, and expiration date. If you have this kind of record, or a copy or excerpt of it, it can be used as material to show to a medical institution in Japan.

In Japan, when a child receives a vaccination, it is recorded in the Maternal and Child Health Handbook (母子健康手帳) (per the Routine Vaccination Implementation Guidelines). There are versions of the Handbook with a foreign language alongside Japanese, but the Children and Families Agency’s “Maternal and Child Health Handbook Information Support Site” offers only 10 languages — English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Nepali, Tagalog, Indonesian, Spanish, and Thai — and there is no Ukrainian-language version. The Implementation Guidelines provide that a certificate of vaccination is to be issued after a vaccination, and that for infants and young children, an entry in the Maternal and Child Health Handbook is used instead. Ask your municipality whether vaccinations received in Ukraine can be transcribed into the Handbook.

Before a vaccination, you fill out a questionnaire form called a “pre-vaccination questionnaire” (予診票). The Japan Vaccination Research Center (a public interest incorporated foundation) publishes translated foreign-language versions of the routine vaccination questionnaire, and the 2026 academic year version includes a Ukrainian-language questionnaire (the questionnaire form only; there is no accompanying explanatory booklet). Because its use is conditioned on not being for commercial purposes and on reporting usage, check with the medical institution or municipality administering the vaccination on whether it can be used.

General preparation before visiting a hospital, and Ukrainian-language questionnaires and medical glossaries you can use, are compiled in the article Preparing Before You Visit a Hospital in Japan.

Things to Check Before Consulting

• Whether you are registered as a resident of the municipality where you live.
• Which routine vaccinations your child is eligible for at their age (ask the municipality’s vaccination counter).
• Whether you have a record of vaccinations received in Ukraine, and whether the vaccine names and dates are legible.
• If there are vaccinations not shown in the record, whether they can be received in Japan and whether they cost money (ask the medical institution and municipality).
• Whether a questionnaire or explanation can be prepared in Ukrainian, Russian, or English.

One more time, to close: this article covers the vaccination system and how records are treated, and does not say which vaccine your child should receive. Decide your child’s vaccination schedule together with a doctor who has reviewed their records.