REGIONAL ROUNDUP Family medicine: What does it mean in Japan?

The present review defines Japanese family medicine and the current state of the Japanese medical school and residency training in family medicine, and tries to reveal the reasons for the variations in family practice training in Japan. It also explains the status of family physicians’ practices in Japan today and describes the Japanese professional organizations related to family medicine or primary care in Japan. Japanese family practice must undergo further development in order to arrive at an ideal system, as has happened in other nations. Our task is to better educate ourselves about international best practices in family medicine, decide upon the form that family medicine should take within the Japanese medical system, and institute appropriate training in family medicine at both the medical school and residency levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]