Healthcare Reform Under the New Japanese Government from a Comparative Perspective

This is a brief interim report of my ongoing research, the purpose of which is to analyze healthcare reform under the new Japanese government from a comparative perspective. Today, like many developed nations in the world, Japan is facing a variety of serious healthcare problems in the face of an increasingly aging society as well as austere economic conditions. Under these circumstances, public opinion demanding healthcare reforms is growing stronger year by year. In Japan, as in other nations, the healthcare reform issue has become one of the top priorities in government policy. This study will attempt to analyze healthcare reform in Japan under the new government that was established in September 2009.Firstly, this study will examine some of the acute problems of the healthcare system in Japan including care for the elderly in the context of a rapidly aging society. There are a host of other problems such as the shortage of medical doctors and nursing care workers, the rise in national medical expenditures as well as individual medical expenses, lowered standards and inefficiency in medical services, regional and income gaps in medical care, and various medical malpractices, to name just a few.Secondly, the author will examine how the power shift from the long-entrenched LDP government to the new coalition government is affecting healthcare reform. The new government has been screening some of the old policies and proposing new policy alternative, a process that is now in progress. Policy alternatives among major political parties as expressed in the last general election's party manifestos and platforms will also be analyzed. In addition, public opinion polls relating to healthcare reforms will be examined.In conclusion, the author will attempt to delineate the future directions and pending issues in healthcare reform in Japan and analyze them from the perspective of comparison with other developed nations such as the United Kingdom and the United States