Training and Supply of Japanese Physicians: An Impending Crisis?

Recent shortages of physicians are forcing many Japanese city hospitals to close. These shortages are also affecting university hospitals. Medical graduates migrate to major hospitals in larger cities, rather than working at their local university hospitals or in smaller towns. Even larger in‐hospital units such as internal medicine or surgery tend to have very few, if any, doctors on staff. These units at one time had at least 10 doctors on their staff. Many university hospitals that employed at least ten full time specialists on different wards are now faced with the sad prospect of closing specialty departments. It is important to address the underlying roots of the problem and remediate this crisis affecting the Japanese health sector.