Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba admitted his fault Thursday over the government’s unpopular plan to raise the limits on out-of-pocket expenses for high-cost medical care. “It was a mistake,” Ishiba told a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament.
The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday found a 49-year-old doctor not guilty of licking a patient’s breast just after he operated on her at a Tokyo hospital in 2016. In the case sent back from the Supreme Court, Presiding Judge Hiroaki Saito upheld a district court ruling acquitting the doctor, Susumu Sekine, of indecent assault performed on an incapable person. “The possibility cannot be denied that the woman hallucinated,” the judge said, dismissing the prosecution’s appeal. Sekine was indicted for allegedly licking the left breast of the patient immediately after she underwent an operation to remove a tumor in her right breast at the hospital May 10, 2016.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that his government has canceled plans to raise the ceiling on out-of-pocket expenses for high-cost medical care in August. His ruling coalition plans to revise the government’s fiscal 2025 budget bill, which is being deliberated in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, after its passage in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, earlier this week following revisions to the original bill. If a government budget bill is approved after revisions during Upper House deliberations, it will be the first time that such a change is made under the current Constitution.
The Japanese government is considering shelving a plan to raise the ceiling of out-of-pocket expenses for high-cost medical care in August, it was learned Friday. The move came after cancer patients’ groups and some ruling bloc members opposed the hike, although Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had indicated his policy of not changing the plan. To forgo the hike, the government may have to revise the fiscal 2025 budget bill, currently being deliberated in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament after clearing the House of Representatives, the lower chamber.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that his government will reconsider its plan to raise the ceiling on out-of-pocket expenses for high-cost medical care. The government will conduct the first phase of the expense cap hike this August as planned, and make a decision by this autumn on further increases, currently scheduled for August 2026 and later. Ishiba made the announcement in response to a question from Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, at a meeting of the Budget Committee in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament.
Keio university said it will consider whether to carry out the research, which would be the first uterine transplant procedure in Japan.
For patients with an annual income of about 7 million yen, the original plan called for raising the monthly limit by about 60,000 yen to about 140,000 yen for the first three times. For the fourth time and later, the limit was to rise from the current 44,400 yen to 76,800 yen in August 2027. Under the revised plan, the current limits for the fourth time and later will not be raised, regardless of patients’ income levels.
The health ministry announced plans Thursday to revise regulations to allow over-the-counter (OTC) drugs to be picked up at convenience stores without the presence of pharmacists or registered salespersons. Customers will be required to receive explanations about the medication online from a pharmacist or registered salesperson before making a purchase.
The Japanese government plans to reduce the official prices for nearly half of all drugs under the public health insurance program in its fiscal 2025 revision, informed sources said Friday. This is expected to cut national medical expenses by some 250 billion yen, alleviating burdens on patients while squeezing the pharmaceutical industry.
The first meeting of the “Medical and Health Management Issues Reform Committee,” which will consider measures to address high health risks for residents of Nakai Yamayuri En (Nakai Town), a prefectural facility for the intellectually disabled, was held on December 18th at the prefectural office in Naka Ward, Yokohama. As investigations into cases of abuse of residents at the facility progress, issues such as residents not receiving appropriate medical care have emerged. At the beginning of the meeting, Governor Yuji Kuroiwa said, “A new issue of medical gaps has come to light. We would like to position this as part of the reform of Nakai Yamayuri En.” ‘Nakai Yamayuri En’ is ran by the same company that manages the ‘Tsukui Yamayuri En’ care facility where, in the early hours of July 26th 2016, a former employee broke in and killed 19 residents between the ages of 19 and 70 with a knife, injuring 26 others.
Barrier Free Japan