Introduction

Many Western countries have shared some general historical changes which have influenced the Western medical culture, for example, the doctor’s status, medical science, and also the Western perspective on life and death in relation to Christianity, the rise of individualism and the Enlightenment. There are many different cultures inside the Western world. It may also seem wrong to use the term ‘the Western hospice movement’, since there are some Western countries which have not yet established any institution named a ‘hospice’. The important thing is to look at how this common background, tendency, and change amongst different Western countries will relate to the care of the dying, particularly terminal cancer patients in Japan, when Japan imports the Western hospice movement.