Category: Hospitals

Hospitals Japan Medical Podcast

Japan to Deny Entry of Foreigners with Unpaid Medical Bills [Podcast Episode]

The Japanese government said Friday 6th June that it will deny entry of foreign tourists who have failed to pay medical expenses in the country in the past. The government also said that medium- and long-term foreign residents who have failed to pay national health insurance or pension premiums in Japan will not be allowed to renew their period of stay or change their status of residence.

Disability Health Hospitals Japan Medical

Japan to Deny Entry of Foreigners with Unpaid Medical Bills

The Japanese government said Friday that it will deny entry of foreign tourists who have failed to pay medical expenses in the country in the past. The government also said that medium- and long-term foreign residents who have failed to pay national health insurance or pension premiums in Japan will not be allowed to renew their period of stay or change their status of residence.

Hospitals Japan Podcast Politics

LDP, Komeito, Nippon Ishin Agree to Reduce Hospital Beds [Podcast Episode]

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) agreed Thursday 29th May to remove up to 110,000 redundant hospital beds across the country, in an effort to reduce social security costs. The three parties will formalize the agreement soon, aiming to include the reduction in the government’s upcoming economic and fiscal policy guidelines, which will be adopted in June. Nippon Ishin estimates that reducing 110,000 hospital beds would save around 1 trillion yen in medical costs. “The three parties share the same recognition (about the effect of reducing hospital beds),” Ryohei Iwatani, secretary-general of the party, told reporters after meeting with officials from the LDP and Komeito earlier on the day.

Hospitals Japan

LDP, Komeito, Nippon Ishin Agree to Reduce Hospital Beds

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) agreed Thursday to remove up to 110,000 redundant hospital beds across the country, in an effort to reduce social security costs. The three parties will formalize the agreement soon, aiming to include the reduction in the government’s upcoming economic and fiscal policy guidelines, which will be adopted in June. Nippon Ishin estimates that reducing 110,000 hospital beds would save around 1 trillion yen in medical costs. “The three parties share the same recognition (about the effect of reducing hospital beds),” Ryohei Iwatani, secretary-general of the party, told reporters after meeting with officials from the LDP and Komeito earlier on the day.

Disability Health Hospitals Japan Medical Mental Health

Japanese Society of Sleep Research Requests Government Add ‘Sleep Disorders’ to Names of Medical Departments

As the number of people struggling with insomnia and insufficient sleep increases, the Japanese Society of Sleep Research has submitted a formal request to the government to add “Sleep Disorders” to the names of medical departments. They envision combining this term with existing department names, such as “Sleep Disorder Internal Medicine,” and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is now considering the proposal.

Health Hospitals Infectious Diseases Japan

Japan Reports 1st Tally of Acute Respiratory Infection Cases

The number of new cases of acute respiratory infection, or ARI, reported at some 3,000 designated medical institutions across Japan was 181,270 in the week through April 13, a national institute said Tuesday. According to the Japan Institute for Health Security, the number of ARI patients per medical institution in the reporting week stood at 49.39. By prefecture, Tochigi logged the highest figure, at 94.13, and Kochi posted the lowest figure, at 27.37. The number of ARI patients will be released every Tuesday, and the overview of the ARI situation in Japan will be updated every Friday.

Hospitals Japan Podcast

Barrier Free Japan Experiences ‘Clinical Omotenashi’ [Podcast Episode]

Barrier Free Japan is now freed from hospital! After a stay during there the weekend after an ‘episode’ on Friday after work, he is out!

Apologies for the audio quality , but I thought it was still worth posting to reassure those who listen to the podcast or read the blog and sorry for the rather overly vague description of what happened. As I say in the podcast, it is not infectious or communicable, but outside of the West (and even in some countries in it) there is still some stigma towards it.

Crime Hospitals Japan

Ex-head of Japan hospital suspected of covering up murder in hospital

A former head of a hospital in northeastern Japan and his doctor brother were sent to prosecutors on Saturday for allegedly covering up the murder of a patient by another patient in 2023, police said. Takashi Ishiyama, 61, and Tetsu Ishiyama, 60, the primary physician of the victim who was killed at Michinoku Memorial Hospital in Aomori Prefecture, were arrested Friday on suspicion of fabricating a death certificate that stated the cause of death as pneumonia. The murderer has already been sentenced to 17 years in prison for fatally stabbing Seietsu Takahashi, 73, in the face with a toothbrush. The assailant had been hospitalized for alcohol addiction and was sharing a room with Takahashi, according to a court ruling. The Ishiyamas were allegedly aware of the murder but tried to hide it, including by providing the false death certificate to Takahashi’s family.