Japan is a global leader when it comes to affordable health care — providing access to advanced medical care at a fraction of the cost compared to most developed countries.
Yet with a declining and aging population, the country has been dealing with a train wreck in slow motion — a problem it has grappled with for decades, but has yet to come up with a viable solution for. It is a problem that many other Asian nations could face in the near future.
Compounding Japan’s problems in its health care system is a hidebound bureaucracy that was criticized during the pandemic for its inward-looking, analog ways — issues that health minister Keizo Takemi is quick to point out. In a recent interview, Takemi sat down with The Japan Times to talk about his vision of digitalizing Japan’s health care system, as well as sharing the country’s medical know-how with other Asian nations.