Comparing the Japanese and American Health Care Systems

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Introduction

With all the focus our country has recently put on Healthcare I thought is necessary to look at a country which has used a Universal Health care model to understand where we as a country are heading and why so many people are opposed to it. For years I have heard that Japanese healthcare was one of the best in the world and known of people who would travel to Japan to receive treatment. Japan has been at the forefront of technology and it seems that the use of that technology has helped them advance in Health Care as well. In comparing both Japanese and American Health Care Systems I am hoping to find if Japanese Health Care is better than our American Health Care System.

Population and Health Status

Japan's 2008 total population was 127.69 million though its younger population has decreased as the older population has increased. Japans older population is living longer than earlier generations (Wakamatsu-cho, 2008). Diet has a great deal to do with Health and traditionally Japanese meals were higher in carbohydrates due to lower economic status and rarely used beef or pork. With economic growth came changes to the traditional Japanese diet adding more fats and proteins, causing a recent decline in Japanese health and increase in obesity (Saigusa, 2006).

The population in the United States as of 2009 was 307,006,550 the younger population is projected to slightly increase and eventually plateau though the older population has been steadily increasing and projected to continue on an upward trend (Vincent & Velkoff, 2010). The lack of a healthier diet is something that has been highlighted in the media for the past decade and more often than not we are seeing the effects of overindulging and the consumption of highl...

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...fairs: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/10/3/87.pdf

Kozu, T. M. (December 2006). Medical Education in Japan. Journal of Association of American Medical Colleges , Volume 81 - Issue 12 - pp 1069-1075.

O'Connor, P. (2008, October 18). US infant mortality rate now worse than 28 other countries. Retrieved June 9, 2010, from World Socialist Web Site: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oct2008/mort-o18.shtml

Saigusa, O. (2006). Japan's healthcare system and pharmaceutical industry. Journal of Generic Medicines , 4, 23–29.

Vincent, G. K., & Velkoff, V. A. (2010, May). Retrieved MJune 2010, from U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p25-1138.pdf

Wakamatsu-cho, S.-k. (2008). Ministry of internal affairs and communications. Retrieved May 2010, from Statistical Handbook of Japan: http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c02cont.htm#cha2_2

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