A 34-year-old Chinese doctor is helping a short-staffed hospital in Morioka under a rare project led by the Iwate Prefectural Government, which is responding to a chronic shortage of physicians in the prefecture.
As the central government and lawmakers attempt to secure doctors and nurses in a graying Japan, some experts say the contribution by Gao Song could trigger demand for Japanese-speaking Chinese medics in other hospitals.
"OK, you're fine, madam. . . . You can take a shower soon," the soft-spoken Gao assures an inpatient in fluent Japanese after checking the stitches in her stomach.