Life Sciences

According to the latest MHLW (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) figures, Japan’s medical expenditure in FY2021 totalled JPY 44.2 trillion, an increase of approximately JPY 2.0 trillion compared to the previous year. (GBP 260,300 million)  

As of 1 October 2021, the total population was 125.5 million.  According to the white paper on the aging society, issued by the cabinet office, those aged 65 and over accounted for 28.9% (36.21 million) of the total population. While population in total is declining, the number of people aged 65 and over is increasing, and the ageing rate will continue to rise, reaching 33.3% in 2036, when one in three of the population will be aged 65 or over.  

Japan is one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the world and home to a strong domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing sector.  Most of the Japanese leading pharmaceutical companies such as Takeda, Astellas, Daiichi Sankyo and Otsuka have a global presence and a strong appetite for international collaboration.  The key areas of opportunity in the bio pharma market include drug discovery technologies, therapeutic pipelines and advanced therapies such as gene and cell therapies.  

Digital health is another key area of opportunity. The focus is being put on the digitisation of the economy. With the increasing healthcare needs of an aging society, there is pressure to accelerate improvement in areas such as electronic patient records, technology-assisted diagnostics and telemedicine.  

Japan’s medical device market remains one of the world’s largest, with a strong domestic sector, particularly in diagnostic devices. Japan has the highest MRI and CT scanners per capita by a significant However, the country is still a major importer of devices, particularly therapeutic devices, with imports accounting for approximately 49% of the total MedTech market.