Local medical associations demand Koizumi's resignation

Influential local medical associations that have served as traditional support bases of the Liberal Democratic Party are now demanding that Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro, who forcibly increased insured patients' burdens for medical expenses from 20 to 30 percent, resign.

As of the end of March, 12 prefectural medical associations, including those of Hokkaido, Nara, Nagasaki, and Okinawa, and local associations in Nagoya and Hiroshima cities adopted resolutions to this effect.

A resolution of the Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association pointed out that the increase in the people's burdens for medical costs will destroy Japan's national medical insurance system which covers every Japanese citizen. (end)