Japan Press Weekly

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2007 August 1 - 21 [WELFARE]

Japan has fewer physicians per capita than most other OECD countries

Japan had only 2.0 physicians per 1,000 population in 2004, 50 percent below the OECD average of 3.0, according to the Health Data 2007 recently released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Japan ranked the lowest among the seven major OECD countries and 27th among the 30 OECD countries.

On the other hand, Japanese saw doctors on an average of 13.8 times a year, ranking at the top among 28 countries whose data was available, indicating how busy Japan’s doctors are.

The OECD report concluded that Japan’s shortage of doctors can be partly attributed to a government policy of capping the number of students admitted to medical schools.

Claiming that health spending needs to be curbed, the government has repeatedly taken measures to impose more burdens on patients. This OECD report, however, revealed that Japan’s health expenditure was already lower than the average of OECD countries.

In terms of health spending per capita, Japan spent 2,358 US dollars (adjusted for purchasing power parity) ranking 19th among the OECD countries (2,759 US dollars on average). Japan’s aggregate health expenditure accounted for 8.0 percent of its GDP, ranking 22nd among the 30 countries.

The Japanese Communist Party has long criticized the government policy of holding back an increase in the number of doctors by limiting the number of entrants to medical schools. The JCP is demanding that the government put an end to this policy and systematically increase the number of physicians. Above all, it is calling for a drastic increase in the number of entrants to medical schools in areas where the shortage of physicians is serious. - Akahata, August 3, 2007