One of the issues U.S. voters say they care the most about right now is health care. America is almost alone in the developed world in not providing its citizens with universal medical care.
Japan, on the other hand, has universal health, though it differs from many other countries' in that it is paid for mainly through premiums to the central government rather than derived from tax revenues. In essence, it is a separate tax based on one's income.
As society ages, medical costs are ballooning, increasing the burden on workers paying the premiums. But without a drastic overhaul of the national health care system or measures to reduce overall medical costs, the burden on the working population is expected to rise in the coming decades.