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“Japan is the world’s third-largest economy, with a correspondingly high standard of living, level of development, safety and stability. Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. The country is divided into 47 prefectures that span a number of small archipelagos as well as the four main islands. Japan is a highly urbanized country and is host to one of the largest metropolises in the world, Tokyo.”

Source: Sakamoto H, Rahman M, Nomura S, Okamoto E, Koike S, Yasunaga H et al. Japan Health System Review. Vol. 8 No. 1. New Delhi: World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia, 2018.

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“The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) is the central leading organization in the Japanese health care system. Japan’s health care system is characterized by excellent health outcomes at a relatively low cost; the system emphasizes equity, facilitated by universal insurance coverage through social insurance premiums and tax subsidies, with virtually free access to health-care facilities. The country’ population is rapidly ageing and Japan needs to transform its health care system into one that prioritize patient value, quality and efficiency of care, and integrated approaches across sectors.

“The MHLW as Japan’s leading organization, actively collaborates and cooperates with various other bodies such as the Cabinet, several other ministries and professional organizations. Traditionally, the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) are involved in financing (in particular, the fee schedule and drug pricing), medical professional education, food security and one health, among others. Recently, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) have become more involved in health care and the medical industry. In 2013, the Central Government published the Japan Revitalization Strategy, in which health care was determined to be one of the top driving forces for revitalizing the Japanese economy (Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet, 2013). Under this strategy, Medical Excellence Japan (MEJ) was established under the support of the MEXT in order to promote and expand Japanese health-care services. Additionally, at the G7 Ise-shima summit in 2016, health – with a strong focus on health security – was one of the main agenda items on which the Cabinet Office, MHLW, MOF and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) worked together closely.

“The government regulates and controls nearly all aspects of the health system at three levels: national, prefectural, and municipal, where service delivery and implementation are mainly handled by prefectural and municipal governments. Several professional organizations such as the JMA and the Japanese Nursing Association (JNA) are also actively involved in health policy processes. The manner in which the MHLW interacts with these professional organizations, including the private sector, care providers and patients, is notably complex.”

Source: Sakamoto H, Rahman M, Nomura S, Okamoto E, Koike S, Yasunaga H et al. Japan Health System Review. Vol. 8 No. 1. New Delhi: World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia, 2018.

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Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and several other nations.

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Page last updated Dec. 3, 2020 by Doug McVay, Editor.