Dear incoming minister of health,

Japanese travel guides advise visitors that there is seldom any reason to tip in Japan. Luckily, tourists rarely have any reason to visit Japanese hospitals, or they might be in for a rude awakening.

A Japanese relative of mine's long battle with Parkinson's disease has slowly been coming to its inevitable conclusion. Being minister of health, I'm sure you're aware that Parkinson's is a degenerative disease that attacks the central nervous system, impairing motor skills and speech, and that there is no cure. As my aunt gradually lost the ability to walk and feed herself, she began requiring increasingly long periods of hospitalization.