{"id":987501956,"date":"2023-02-03T08:19:11","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T07:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/country\/japan\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T14:09:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T13:09:08","slug":"japan","status":"publish","type":"country","link":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/countries\/japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”!! PLEASE DO NOT EDIT !!!” _builder_version=”4.19.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ admin_label=”!!! PLEASE DO NOT EDIT !!!” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.19.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”SUMMARY ” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”10px||1em||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]The country\u2019s journey towards universal health coverage (UHC) began with the introduction of the Health Insurance Act in 1922, followed by Japan\u2019s first universal health insurance scheme, Employee\u2019s Health Insurance, implemented in 1927. UHC targets were achieved in 1961.[1]<\/a><\/sup> Today, Japan is renowned for its highly developed social health protection system that provides a comprehensive set of benefits, determined and approved by the national government.[\/et_pb_text][ba_gradient_heading title=”Japan\u2019s aging population is increasing health care costs” html_tag=”h3″ primary_color=”#455A64″ secondary_color=”#455A64″ admin_label=”HEADING (50-60 characters)” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”||||||||” title_font_size=”26px” title_line_height=”1em” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/ba_gradient_heading][et_pb_text admin_label=”TEXT – BLOCK 4 ” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||1em||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s rapidly aging population is putting a strain on the health care system, with health expenditure rising to almost 11% of GDP, one of the highest among countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The health system is funded by contributions from the insured as well as copayments that depend on the type of insurance and the socio-demographic characteristics of the insured. The largest share of funding comes from contributions (49% of current health expenditure (CHE), followed by government spending (38% of CHE) and out-of-pocket (OOP) spending (13% of CHE).<\/span><\/p>\n

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The health insurance coverage rate is 100% in Japan and covers more than 5000 medical procedures, dental care, and drugs. There are two major types of insurance schemes in Japan: Employees\u2019 Health Insurance and National Health Insurance (NHI). The majority, 58.69%, of the population is covered by Employees\u2019 Health Insurance; 28.31%, by NHI; and 12.42%, by the recently introduced late-stage medical care system for the elderly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][ba_gradient_heading title=”Financial sustainability without reducing financial protection ” html_tag=”h3″ primary_color=”#455A64″ secondary_color=”#455A64″ admin_label=”HEADING (50-60 characters)” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”||||||||” title_font_size=”26px” title_line_height=”1em” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/ba_gradient_heading][et_pb_text admin_label=”TEXT – BLOCK 4 ” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||1em||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Despite these achievements, challenges are emerging because of negative population growth and a low fertility rate, an aging population, a shrinking economy and an increasing unemployment rate. The disease burden of <\/span>noncommunicable and degenerative disease has been rising in recent decades. These realities strain the national health system, especially service delivery and financing<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”TEXT – BLOCK 5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||1em||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]Japan\u2019s Vision: Health Care 2035 aims to build a sustainable health system that delivers better health outcomes through care that is responsive and equitable to each member of the society and that contributes to prosperity in Japan and the world.[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/span>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”TEXT – BLOCK 9 – references” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”13px” custom_margin=”20px||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ custom_css_main_element=”a { color: #4c7e96; }” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]\u00a0 International Labor Organization. (2019). Extending social security to workers in the informal economy: Lessons from international experience. Extending Social Security Coverage to the Informal Economy: Lessons from International Experience, November, 212.<\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0 Sakamoto, H., Rahman, M., Nomura, S., Okamoto, E., Koike, S. et al. (\u200e2018)\u200e. Japan health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 8 (\u200e1)<\/a>\u200e, World Health Organization. Regional Office for South-East Asia. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO<\/p>\n

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The country\u2019s journey towards universal health coverage (UHC) began with the introduction of the Health Insurance Act in 1922, followed by Japan\u2019s first universal health insurance scheme, Employee\u2019s Health Insurance, implemented in 1927. UHC targets were achieved in 1961.[1] Today, Japan is renowned for its highly developed social health protection system that provides a comprehensive…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":987536841,"template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country\/987501956"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/country"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country\/987501956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":987773671,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country\/987501956\/revisions\/987773671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/987536841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=987501956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}