Japan Press Weekly

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2011 December 7 - 13 [WELFARE]

Why should we employ US style healthcare!: JCP Koike

Japanese Communist Party Policy Commission Chair Koike Akira appeared in a popular TV program hosted by Beat Takeshi (Kitano Takeshi) broadcast on December 5 and spoke of problems with Japan’s medical services.

The TV program introduced Michael Moore’s film “Sicko” documenting the reality of U.S. public healthcare, which shows that there is no universal healthcare insurance program and that about 46 million people are left uninsured in the United States.

Regarding the concern that the U.S. government in the TPP talks may pressure Japan to open healthcare markets, Koike said, “There, for-profit corporations run hospitals; insurance companies control actual medical services; and many people suffer from the highest medical expenses in the world. Why should we implement such a cruel system here!”

The program moved on to the topic of the industrialization of healthcare, and featured the issue of “medical tourism” which is attracting foreigners to come to Japan to receive medical services. The program praised “medical tourism” as a new source to obtain foreign currency. Sakurai Mitsuru, a Democratic Party lawmaker who was present in the program, also praised this by saying, “Earning foreign currency is important. I’m in favor of medical tourism.”

Koike in response to this said, “Healthcare markets play a significant role in creating jobs and contributing to economic ripple effects. But, many people around Japan are now having difficulty finding a place to give birth or an institution to perform needed operations. At a time like this, should we offer medical services to rich foreigners while leaving the harsh medical reality facing ordinary people as is?”

Koike criticized the government for promoting “medical tourism” and stated that the need is for the government to work to solve problems in the present healthcare situation.