Health Policy and Law in Japan

This book provides a comprehensive overview of Japanese health policy and law, written by active public health physicians within the Japanese government and leading researchers in Japan and the United States. This volume uniquely covers the entire essence of how Japan's health policies are formulated and implemented.

Key topics include Japan’s governmental and administrative structures, medical and nursing care systems, Universal Health Coverage (UHC), pharmaceutical and medical device regulation, and public health strategies ranging from infectious disease control to cancer prevention, rare disease policy, and maternal and child health, etc. Readers will gain insight into the historical foundations and guiding principles of Japan’s health system, how the country has achieved world‑leading health outcomes, and the policy measures currently underway to meet the challenges of an aging society.

This book incorporates advice from current undergraduate and graduate students in the United States and Japan, making its content accessible and suitable for use in university education. It also serves as a valuable resource for government officials, policymakers, and professionals in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. As part of a series on global health policy, this volume is an essential addition to collections supporting public health, policy studies, and international health systems.

Jiro Ezaki received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the School of Medicine, Hiroshima University, Japan. After graduating from Hiroshima University, he completed a clinical residency program at the Tokyo Women’s University Hospital. In 2014, he became an Assistant Professor at the Department of Legal Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Japan. As a forensic pathologist, he focused on research involving traumatic brain injury (TBI), drug overdose, and Medical Law.

Since 2016, he has served as a public health physician, Deputy Director, at the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, the Government of Japan. He worked on government public health policies involving patient safety, medico-legal death investigations, and rare and intractable diseases.

From 2019 to 2020, he was the Director of the Public Health Division in Kochi Prefecture, responsible for managing prefecture-wide public health measures. He worked on cancer policy (resident screening and palliative care), infectious disease control (COVID-19, Hepatitis Virus, and STD), and maternal and child health promotion (Child Fatality Review, Child Abuse, and Infant Health Checkups).

In addition to his posts in the government, he contributed to public health and medical law education for medical and nursing students in Japan by giving lectures, training, and writing textbooks as a Visiting Associate Professor at Hiroshima University, the Invited Faculty at Osaka University, and the Senior Research Fellow at the SFC Institute of Keio University. In 2025, the Government of Japan dispatched him to the Izumi Lab, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, American University, to engage in education and research on Japanese health policy and law.

Shoichi Maeda, PhD, is the dean of the Graduate School of Health Management and a professor in the Division of Health Care Management and Public Health at Keio University. He also holds a joint appointment as a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Keio University School of Medicine. After earning his PhD in Medical Sciences from Kyushu University in 2001, he held faculty positions at the Graduate School of Medical Sciences at Kyushu University and the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine before joining Keio University in 2009.

Dr. Maeda’s research focuses on medical law, medical ethics, public health ethics, research ethics, and health care risk management. He has published widely on topics including medical errors, informed consent, end-of-life care, and the management of incidental findings in clinical practice and medical research. He has also studied U.S. legislation concerning medical assistance in dying (MAID).

Dr. Maeda has authored numerous books and research papers, contributed to educational resources, and helped develop Japanese government guidelines on ethical issues in life sciences and medical research. He has also served on ethics and conflict-of-interest committees for leading Japanese medical societies.

In addition to his work in Japan, Dr. Maeda currently serves as a faculty fellow at American University and leads collaborative research projects with multiple institutions worldwide.

Taisuke Izumi, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Biology at American University, where his research focuses on viral persistence, host–virus interactions, and the development of functional cures for chronic infections such as HIV. He earned his Ph.D. in medical science from Kyoto University, Japan, and completed postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health, MD, USA.

Dr. Izumi has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and secured multiple research grants, including NIH R15 support and a DC CFAR Pilot Award. His laboratory has developed innovative strategies for HIV and SARS-CoV-2 research in collaboration with academic, federal, and industry partners.

Dr. Izumi has guided students at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels, many of whom have earned competitive awards, publications, and placements in graduate and professional programs. He is also committed to inclusive teaching, developing active learning curricula, and building partnerships that connect biology with entrepreneurship, regulatory science, and industry.

In addition to his scholarship and teaching, Dr. Izumi is involved in various departmental, collegiate, and university committees, including those for master's and Ph.D. programs and student awards and fellowships. He further contributes to professional service as an editor for multiple journals and as a member of NIH grant review committees. Furthermore, he actively participates in outreach programs, such as the SMART high school research internship. His efforts are enhancing biomedical research at AU and promoting interdisciplinary collaborations across the sciences.