Japan’s PM Kishida Inspects Hospital in Northeastern Japan

From Jiji

May 19 2024

Sakata, Yamagata Pref – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited a hospital in northeastern Japan on Sunday to learn firsthand about the situation surrounding local medical services. 

At Nihonkai General Hospital in the city of Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, Kishida inspected reception work for which the number of staff was reduced through the use of My Number social security and taxation identification cards integrated with health insurance certificates.

It is important to increase the use of the My Number cards with the health insurance certificate functions in order to offer better medical services, he told reporters.

The government plans to abolish the existing health insurance certificates in December this year by promoting their integration into My Number cards.

But the usage rate of the integrated cards stood low at 6.56 pct in April.