Japan’s Integration of Eastern Values and Modern Science

Abstract

Japan is a small nation comprised of many islands and populated by 120 million people. There are nearly 150 physicians per 100,000 population, and the number of physicians continues to rise. They are concentrated in the larger, populous cities. The remote mountainous regions, and outlying islands still have few doctors. The country has well developed science and biomedical research programs. It is now generally accepted in Japan that research is absolutely necessary for the advance of medicine and surgery. Japanese surgeons recognize that both clinical practice and surgical research are equally important, like the wheels of a car.