Singapore, Nov 16, 2006: Global research firm, Research and Markets in its latest report says that despite its prolonged economic troubles in recent years, Japan remains the world's second largest medical market, after the US.

Japan's short-term economic outlook continues to recover steadily. The country has some of the best vital statistics in the world, including the lowest infant mortality rates and highest adult life expectancies. The growing number of patients requiring long-term care and the advent of the elderly health insurance system offers great potential within the market.

A rapidly ageing population has burdened the healthcare system both in terms of funding and facilities and is of great concern for the Japanese government. As a result, payments made by the government to medical institutions have been slashed (by record levels in 2006) in an attempt to ease national medical spending.

The government is attempting to reform the notoriously lengthy period of healthcare product approval with the creation of a new organization overseeing both medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Many Western medical procedures such as transplants are viewed with scepticism, although ethical differences have gradually been overlooked due to the increasing lack of Japanese alternatives.