Red Cross hospitals are designated as “public medical institutions” by the 1951 Medical Law, and they assume responsibility as part of the Government’s medical policy. Today, the JRCS runs 92 Red Cross hospitals, including one maternity hospital and two hospitals specialising in atomic bomb-related diseases.

As a mission of the Red Cross and under the Disaster Relief Act, the Red Cross hospitals register doctors and nurses as relief personnel and are ready to undertake prompt medical relief activities by dispatching disaster relief teams in times of disaster to affected areas. In addition, 58 hospitals are designated as “disaster relief core hospitals,” which have facilities necessary for medical activities in disaster areas.

The JRCS, as a member of the Red Cross Movement, undertakes medical relief operations for the victims of disasters abroad, and for that purpose it designates five Red Cross hospitals in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Wakayama, and Kumamoto as “international medical relief core hospitals”. These hospitals accept doctors and nurses from abroad for training in order to strengthen relationships with and provide technical assistance to overseas hospitals.

As public medical institutions, the Red Cross hospitals offer medical services to remote areas, emergency and advanced medical services, and clinical training. The Red Cross hospitals in Hiroshima and Nagasaki specialise in the treatment of atomic bomb survivors, and also treat other patients.

The Red Cross hospitals are exempted from taxes for their medical services. Since their foundation, the Red Cross hospitals have used a self-supporting accounting system, and each hospital is therefore financially independent.