Japan’s Ministry of Health pulls end-of-life-care poster campaign after online backlash

By Barrier Free Japan

November 29th 2019

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has withdrawn a poster intended to raise awareness of its Advance Care Planning (ACP) service, a service that was intended to inform people about ‘end of life’ care.

According to The Mainichi Shimbun:

“[A] promotional campaign launched on Nov. 25, which included posters and video on the ministry website, was suspended on Nov. 26 after being subject to widespread criticism. As a result, physical posters will no longer be dispatched to municipal governments across Japan, and a related video will not be posted on the ministry website.”

The withdrawn posters features the comedian Kazutoyo Koyabu, who appears as a patient lying on a bed, wishing he had done something to prepare for the end of the life sooner. The poster suggests that the reader consult the ACP service, to plan a ‘jinsei kaigi‘ or ‘life meeting‘. so as to not make the same mistake as the character plates by comedian did regarding their end of life care.