ABSTRACT
Japan guarantees equitable access to healthcare to all citizens via public health insurance and long-term care insurance. In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for Japan to maintain the healthcare system under the current scheme due to a rapidly aging population. According to World Health Statistics 2015 from the World Health Organization (WHO), the healthy life expectancy of Japanese men and women was 75 years in 2013, which also ranks as the worlds' best. Japan introduced universal health insurance in 1961. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Health Statistics published in July 2015, health spending in Japan as a share of gross domestic products (GDP) was lower than the OECD average before 2005. Social factors, including sanitation improvement, equal educational opportunities, greater economic equality, the stable, peaceful nature of Japanese society, along with the healthy lifestyle, have also contributed to the world-class stature of Japan's health indicators.
