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Toward a New Perspective

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Japan's Shifting Status in the World and the Development of Japan's Medical Insurance Systems

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Abstract

This chapter, the introduction, surveys historiography concerning the development of Japanese medical insurance programs. Then, it explains three new perspectives in terms of the development of medical insurance programs in Japan—placing emphasis on the external environment, especially Japan’s changing status in international society; making detailed, scientific, and empirical studies based on the analysis of primary documents about the roles of the government; and relativizing the importance of World War II .

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The Meiji Restoration was the January 1868 political coup d’état that declared the reversion of power in Japan from the Tokugawa shogunate to the emperor.

  2. 2.

    The Meiji period is the Japanese modern era under the reign of Emperor Meiji from September 1868 through July 1912.

  3. 3.

    Article 25 of the Japanese constitution stipulates, “All people shall have the right to maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living.

    In all spheres of life, the State shall use its endeavors for the promotion and extension of social welfare and security, and of public health.”

    Article 25, the Constitution of Japan http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail_main?re=&vm=02&id=174#en_ch3at16. Accessed on 4 May 2018.

  4. 4.

    In this chapter, “medical insurance” refers to a variety of legally required medical insurance programs (social insurance )—such as the Health Insurance , the National Health Insurance , and other programs.

  5. 5.

    Insurance physicians are those physicians who agree to consult with patients covered by medical insurances.

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  1. Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

    Yoneyuki Sugita

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  1. Yoneyuki Sugita
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Sugita, Y. (2019). Toward a New Perspective. In: Japan's Shifting Status in the World and the Development of Japan's Medical Insurance Systems. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1660-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1660-9_1

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