Govt company to pitch 'medical tourism'

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry plans to launch a company in 2011 specifically aimed at boosting so-called medical tourism, according to sources.

The government has identified the provision of advanced medical services to foreign visitors at domestic institutions as a potential growth area for the nation's medical industry. A plan to increase the number of such patients was included in a government growth strategy released June 18.

The new company, to be jointly funded by the public and private sectors, is expected to be fully operational from fiscal 2012, the sources said. The ministry envisions the company promoting medical tourism by partnering with overseas medical institutions and serving as a mediator between them and institutions in Japan, according to the sources. China, Russia and Middle East nations are among the likely target markets.

The ministry is considering tapping government-affiliated bodies for funds, the sources said, and intends to ask private medical institutions, travel agencies and other private sector entities to invest in the company. About 100 million yen has been allocated by the ministry in this fiscal year's budget to cover the company's start-up expenses.

The ministry plans to start recruiting interpreters specializing in the medical field and other personnel from July, and conduct a survey to determine which institutions in the nation would like to court foreign patients.

Singapore and Thailand have found success by promoting medical tourism, with as many as 1 million foreign patients traveling annually to each nation, benefiting the domestic travel and hospitality industries.

The ministry has been exploring specific ways to expand medical tourism since last autumn, when it set up an expert panel to research the matter.