Facilities and professional care also need to respond to the altering demographic.
There is much talk about Japan being the fastest-ageing society among the industrialised nations. Yet, how is the country preparing for the inevitable rise in demand for medical services?
The Ministry of Health has been keeping tabs on what the health industry is up to recently. In a 2008 survey, there were 286,699 physicians, an increase of just 3.2% over the previous survey in 2006, and 267,751 pharmacists, an increase of a mere 6.0%.
When it comes to clinical specialty, the emergency department has realised the greatest increase (14.5%), at 1,945 physicians. The number of physicians practicing in healthcare facilities per 100,000 population by prefecture has Kyoto at the top, with 279.2, and Tokyo in third place at 277.4. The overall number nationwide is 212.9 physicians per 100,000 population. As a point of reference, there are about 127 million residents nationwide (2010 census).
When it comes to medical care institutions, the total throughout Japan is 175,656 in 2008, an alarming decrease by 536 over the previous year. Of greater concern are the specific breakdowns, which include the number of hospitals dropping by 68 to 8,794 and medical clinics down by 449 to 99,083. The peak year for hospitals was back in 1990, at 10,096. Hospitals with beds for long-term care represent 46.2% of the total number of general hospitals.