After being turned away by eight Tokyo hospitals last month, a 36-year-old woman died of brain hemorrhage after giving premature birth by Caesarian section. A month before, a 32-year-old pregnant stroke victim was bounced among six hospitals before one finally accepted her for treatment. She is currently reported to be in a vegetative state.
A spate of incidents in which perinatal care centers — 24-hour emergency centers for infants and pregnant mothers — failed to help those in dire need of immediate medical attention has once again spotlighted a problem slowly corroding Japan's medical system: the lack of doctors and an apparent rigidity in the system that hampers remedial change.
"We need to create a system that allows healthy competition and sufficient rewards, both monetary and psychological, for doctors working in high-risk fields," said obstetrician Masakazu Tamura, stressing that working conditions for doctors like him are "exhausting."