Public hospitals across Japan ran a combined deficit of ¥395.2 billion in fiscal 2024, with 83.3% operating in the red, the internal affairs ministry said Tuesday.
Both the deficit and the proportion of loss-making hospitals, 703 out of 844, marked record highs.
The ministry attributed the deteriorating financial situation to rising personnel costs and soaring prices of medication and other products.
In fiscal 2021, public hospitals recorded a surplus of ¥325.6 billion, supported by substantial government aid during the COVID-19 pandemic including subsidies.
From fiscal 2023 onward, however, hospitals increasingly became unprofitable. Their deficit widened by ¥185.3 billion in fiscal 2024 as higher costs of labor and materials outpaced medical service incomes.
Salaries for employees, which account for about half of medical expenses, increased by ¥137.4 billion, buoyed by wage hikes following a recommendation by the National Personnel Authority.
The cost of materials, including medicine, increased by ¥39.8 billion.
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