Japan Eyes Medical Travel as Growth Industry

Add Japan to the growing number of Asian countries looking to medical travel as a growth area for their economies. Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry (METI) plans to establish a company next year to develop medical tourism, according to reports in Business Week and the Yomiuri Shimbun, as well as METI’s recent White Paper on International Economy and Trade 2010.

In that White Paper, METI stated that Japan can leverage Japan’s reputation among consumers for high quality products as it develops an international market for medical tourism and healthcare services, especially among developing countries.

METI’s White Paper stated: “In Asia, expenditures are increasing for services [that provide] safer, more secure and richer lives, such as traveling, medical services and education. Japan’s strength in ‘appealing products/services, safety, and security,’ including culture, products and medical services are expected to contribute to demand expansion.”

METI noted that demand for healthcare services is expanding in emerging economies, including China, Brazil, Turkey, India and Russia.

“It is possible to provide Japan’s [reputation for] safety and security to the world by attracting foreign patients and exporting medical equipment,” stated the METI White Paper, which identifies providing advanced medical care to foreign visitors as a growth area for Japan’s medical industry.

According to a report in the Japanese newspaper/news website Yomiuri Shimbun, METI next year will set up a new company, jointly funded by the public and private sectors, to promote medical tourism by partnering with overseas medical institutions and serving as their liaison with Japanese institutions. China, Russia and Middle East nations are target markets.

About 100 million yen ($1.1 million) has been allocated by the ministry to cover the company’s start-up expenses, according to the newspaper.

METI’s strategy follows the pattern established by the medical travel industries in Singapore, Thailand and South Korean. Developing medical services, including medical travel, is one of five strategic areas for economic growth that METI is targeting. The ministry hopes to create 1.5 million new healthcare jobs, and its focus on medical travel dovetails with another part of its growth strategy, to increase Japan’s tourism industry from 10 million annual visitors now to 25 million by 2020.

Business Week reported this week that METI  plans to launch a “small-scale project” on medical tourism in September at 10 of the Japan’s largest hospitals. “Travel agencies and translation-service companies will participate in the tour packages, which will combine medical checkups with sightseeing trips. The one- to two-year project is expected to cost about $1 million,” Business Week reported.

While Japan has a reputation for high quality services, Business Week reported that high costs for medical services and a shortage of physicians are challenges that the country’s medical travel industry faces.

Coming soon: Travel Market Report will post a Q&A on Medical Travel in Japan with Mr. Yuya Hasegawa, director of METI’s Service Industry Division in the near future.