A record 60 percent of people recently surveyed by the health ministry said they favor preparing advance documents to refuse artificial life-support in the event they become terminally ill.
The figure indicates that more people want to make their own decisions on the steps that should be taken when they are dying, reflecting the increasingly important role palliative treatment will take in Japan's aging society.
The survey, conducted by the ministry every five years, saw 59 percent of pollees laud the concept of a living will that clearly states their refusal of life-support when there is no hope of recovery.