When I visited Japan in 2013, I came to understand something that has stayed with me ever since: Japanese healthcare is not defined only by advanced hospitals, sophisticated technology or highly skilled physicians. Its real strength lies in the system behind that excellence — research, clinical practice, precision, prevention, continuous improvement, education and, above all, a deep respect for the patient.
During that visit, documented at the time in the Middle East Health Tourism Magazine, I had the opportunity to meet Japanese physicians and medical experts working at the forefront of cancer treatment, cardiovascular surgery, endoscopy, minimally invasive medicine and medical innovation.
I also had the opportunity to engage with Medical Excellence JAPAN (MEJ), an organisation established to promote Japan’s advanced healthcare capabilities internationally.
More than a decade later, I look back at that experience from a very different professional perspective.
Today, my work is much more closely connected to medical tourism, international healthcare cooperation, medical conferences, healthcare publications and connecting patients and healthcare professionals with leading medical institutions.
This makes me look at Japan not only as a country with exceptional healthcare, but as one of the world's most interesting potential partners in the development of international medical tourism.
From Universal Healthcare to Medical Excellence
Japan's healthcare system has been shaped by a long-term commitment to accessibility, quality and prevention. Universal health insurance was established in 1961, helping create a healthcare environment in which regular medical examinations and early detection became an important part of the culture.
During my 2013 visit, I discussed this philosophy with Japanese cardiologist Dr. Hisaoka, particularly the importance of annual medical checkups, detailed examinations when necessary and the early detection of serious diseases, including cancer.
What impressed me was not simply the technology.
It was the attention to detail.
Science That Became Medical Innovation
Japan's contribution to medicine extends far beyond its hospitals.
The work of scientists such as Shinya Yamanaka in induced pluripotent stem cells, Satoshi Ōmura in discoveries leading to important antiparasitic therapies, Tasuku Honjo in PD-1 cancer immunotherapy and Shimon Sakaguchi in regulatory T-cell research demonstrates the depth of Japan's scientific ecosystem.
This connection between research and clinical medicine is one of the foundations of Japanese medical excellence.
What I Saw Inside Japanese Hospitals.
One of the most memorable parts of my visit was meeting Dr. Tadashi Kamada at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences and learning about heavy-particle and carbon-ion radiotherapy.
The technology was impressive, but what impressed me more was its purpose: delivering highly precise treatment while reducing unnecessary damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
I also met Dr. Hirohiko Tsujii, one of the leading figures in ion-beam medicine. He spoke about Japan's experience in carbon-ion therapy and about the importance of making this expertise better known internationally.
One sentence from that conversation has remained with me:
Japan had excellent facilities and highly skilled professionals, but it was “not known enough outside Japan.”
That observation was particularly important from a medical tourism perspective.
Medical excellence has little international impact if the world does not know where it exists, how to access it and how to build meaningful relationships with it.
Dr. Tsujii had also visited cancer institutions in Abu Dhabi and expressed his interest in stronger Japan–UAE cooperation, particularly in knowledge sharing, know-how and professional training.
That conversation made me realise that the future of international healthcare should not be limited to moving patients from one country to another.
It should also involve knowledge transfer, training, institutional partnerships and innovation.
Innovation That Reduces the Patient’s Burden
My discussions around cardiovascular surgery offered another powerful example.
Dr. Hisaoka introduced me to the work of Dr. Atsushi Amano at Juntendo University, particularly his experience with off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery.
What stayed with me was the evolution of cardiac surgery itself: innovation was not simply about making surgery more sophisticated, but about helping patients recover faster and return to normal life sooner.
I encountered the same philosophy when I visited Iwai Orthopedic Medical Hospital and met Dr. Hirohiko Inanami, whose work focused on minimally invasive spinal procedures using endoscopic techniques.
The principle was simple:
Do more for the patient while doing less to the patient.
That, in my view, is one of the most powerful definitions of meaningful medical innovation.
Medicine as a Team
At the Cancer Institute Hospital of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, I met Dr. Takeshi Sano, Director of Gastroenterological Surgery and Director of the International Center.
He explained the importance of multidisciplinary medicine, bringing together internal medicine, surgery, radiation oncology, diagnostic radiology, pathology and other specialties to develop an appropriate treatment strategy for each patient.
For international patients, this integrated approach is particularly important.
Medical tourism is not simply about finding a famous doctor.
It is about the entire patient journey — diagnosis, imaging, pathology, treatment planning, surgery or therapy, rehabilitation, follow-up and communication with the patient's healthcare system at home.
Medical Excellence JAPAN
My engagement with Medical Excellence JAPAN (MEJ) during that visit was particularly interesting because it showed me that medical tourism requires an ecosystem.
It involves pre-travel medical coordination, treatment planning, cost estimation, visas, accommodation, transportation and interpretation — followed by support during treatment and communication after the patient returns home.
This is very different from simply referring a patient to a hospital.
The concept can be expressed as:
Patient → Japan → Treatment → Home
But I believe the future should be broader:
Patient → Hospital → Knowledge → Partnership → Training → Innovation → Global Healthcare
And this is where I see an important opportunity for Japan.
Japan’s Next Opportunity
Japan already has many of the essential elements of a world-class international healthcare destination:
Advanced hospitals.
Highly trained physicians.
Strong research institutions.
Medical technology.
Regenerative medicine research.
Precision diagnostics and treatment.
Medical devices.
Quality and safety standards.
And a culture of precision, discipline and continuous improvement.
The opportunity now is to connect these strengths more effectively with the international healthcare community.
Patients need access.
Doctors need knowledge exchange.
Hospitals need international partnerships.
Insurers and facilitators need reliable pathways.
And healthcare destinations need trusted global connections.
This is where organisations such as Medical Excellence JAPAN can play an important role.
A Return to Japan
More than ten years have passed since my first journey to Japan.
And I often find myself wondering how much has changed.
What has happened in the hospitals I visited?
How far has carbon-ion therapy evolved?
What new technologies have emerged?
How has Japan's international patient strategy developed?
And what new generation of physicians and scientists is now carrying this remarkable medical tradition forward?
Today, I would very much like to return.
But this time, I would return with a different perspective.
In 2013, I was exploring and learning about Japanese medical excellence. Today, through my work in medical tourism, international healthcare conferences, publications and healthcare networking, I am professionally much closer to the international medical tourism ecosystem.
I would be genuinely excited to revisit the hospitals I once visited, to meet some of the physicians I knew — if they are still active in the field — and to discover the new generation of Japanese doctors, researchers and healthcare leaders.
I would also be very interested in reconnecting with JAPAN and exploring how the dialogue that began more than a decade ago could evolve today.
Because perhaps the most interesting journeys are not the ones we complete.
And perhaps it is time to meet again.
By Lotfi Khelifi