Japanese firm investing to lure medical tourists from Southeast Asia

 28-Apr-15, Bloomberg Business

Capital Medica Co., a Japanese operator of care facilities, is seeking to acquire hospitals in Southeast Asia as it tries to get patients to choose Japan over the U.S. and other markets for heart bypasses and other surgical procedures.

Image: Seniors World Chronicle

“Medical tourism is a promising market in Japan and the weaker yen serves as a tailwind,” Kentaro Nakamura, Capital Medica’s head of corporate development, said this month in an interview. He said the cost in Japan of some sophisticated surgical procedures is “considerably less” than in the U.S., Singapore and Malaysia.

With the number of foreign visitors to Japan increasing, analysts say the time is right to promote medical tourism. Visitor numbers reached a record 13.4 million in 2014.

 Read the full article 

 Insights