Life Science Overview

Japan’s population is aging at a globally unprecedented rate. As of 2020, there are 36.17 million people aged 65 or more, accounting for 28.7% of the total population (the world's highest proportion of the elderly), and is expected to reach 35.3% by 2040 (See Figure 1). Against the backdrop of this “super-aging society”, the public and private sectors are working together to establish a “society of health and longevity”, which means extending each individual's healthy life expectancy. On the other hand, national medical expenses have been increasing every year. In FY 2019-20, the estimated medical expenses reached a record high of 43.6 trillion JPY.

Moreover, the coronavirus has led to rapid changes in healthcare needs and delivery. Now that people are hesitant about face-to-face consultations, there are particularly high expectations for online medical services. In April 2020, online medical services, which were previously allowed only for follow-up visits and were restricted in terms of target diseases and facility standards, were made available for initial visits as a temporary measure during the pandemic. Subsequently, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) agreed to continue this measure even after the containment of the coronavirus.

In addition to such measures for the coronavirus, there have been major innovations in research and drug discovery to treat cancer and dementia, and the digitalization of healthcare is accelerating due to the successive entry of players from different industries, including Big Tech (GAFA), into the healthcare industry. Furthermore, the domestic healthcare ICT market, including electronic medical interview systems, online medical systems, and cloud-based electronic medical records, is expected to grow. This is mainly due to the promotion of healthcare ICT by the Japanese government and the shift by major vendors of healthcare information systems to cloud service offerings (See Figure 3).