While many Japanese companies have gone global over the years, making companies like Toyota, Sony and Canon household names in every corner of the world, the Japanese health care industry is focused largely on the domestic market and has long been shielded from pressure for change.
Most hospitals in Japan are not very foreigner-friendly. They have few doctors or staff who speak foreign languages. And some of their practices, including the notorious "three-minute consultation after a three-hour wait" leave foreign patients flummoxed. Medical procedures often seem based less on science than the doctor's whim.
But change is afoot. As the majority of hospitals in Japan struggle to survive, interest in "medical tourists" from abroad is mounting. And that could help some hospitals become more international and accommodative toward foreign patients' needs, experts say.