Health Care in Japan

Before considering on moving to the Far East, especially to Japan, you need to find out the system of health care in the country. The system of health care in Japan provides for the needs of each citizen and foreigners in the country. Found below are some of the important details about the health care system in Japan which can provide you the facts to help you in your decision process.

The system of health care in Japan provides many options for an individual's medical needs. There are many clinics as well as both public and private hospitals scattered through out the country. The difference though is that Japan has no institutionalized system of family doctors. The public health system pays for up to 70% of the total cost of medical care and medications for a treatment. Since culturally Japanese are focused on business, thus there are only a few Japanese professionals in the medical field. When you undergo health care in Japan, it is quite impersonal and not much ethics in the profession.

There is only one structure of universal health coverage and there are particular characteristics for each class such as being a tourist, a worker, a student, an individual's age and other personal circumstances. When an individual is staying for at least a year in Japan, an individual needs to have health insurance in the country and there are two different systems that applies to citizens and foreigners alike. These are the Employee's Health Insurance, which is for those gainfully employed and the other one is the National Health Insurance, which applies to community based health needs.

The system of health care in Japan provides for free screening examinations for particular diseases, infectious disease control and prenatal care. The system is provided by both local and national local governments. For other personal medical care needs, payments are made through an insurance system of universal health care. There is equality in access as well as fees that have been set by a government agency.

There are a few issues in the system of health care in Japan. As mentioned before, there are only a few doctors in the country. Another one is the lack of English medical staff in the country. This has become quite an issue as more and more individuals emigrate to the country. This has been addressed by the government with the employment of English speaking medical professional staff. These trained personnel obtained their degrees from either the United States or the United Kingdom, making their skills safe and reliable. Having a highly evolved technological society with the most modern equipment designed for medicine.

Like many Asian countries, Japanese medical practitioners fall into the trap of over prescription though only for minor illnesses such as cough, fever and colds. These occur in the upper class suburbs but this has been curbed significantly by the proper authorities.

As advised in the Expat Forum, "carefully go over them and see the pros and the cons. As much as possible, ask your friends who are already in this highly-industrialized as to the real status of Japan because they are they ones that have lived in Japan." Do take this advice to heart in order that you can thrive in the modern Asian technological society such as Japan in the long run.

This article has been provided by Jose Marc Castro, the online editor at the expatforum.com Expat Forum.com - the primary online community for expats. The site also provides information and advice on matters such as expatforum.com/articles/health/health-care-in-japan.html health care in Japan.