Japan Lures U.S. Health-Care Firms
Japan’s aging population could provide an opening for American manufacturers to export to that country health-care products and medical equipment, an area in which U.S. companies clearly have world leadership and Japan lags.
For the first time, Japan will organize a “Made in U.S.A. Fair” next March in Osaka, exclusively for U.S. manufacturers of medical equipment and health-care products.
The fair is being organized by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), a government-funded organization with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
Kenjiro Takada, executive director for JETRO’s Southwest region, says the opportunity is unique in that it will be the first such fair exclusively for U.S. medical companies--and also because the Japanese market for their products is growing phenomenally because of the aging population in Japan.
He said health-care costs in Japan last year totaled $176 billion, of which $94 billion went toward the cost of hospitalization and rehabilitation, prescription drugs and nursing. The remainder was for childbirth, private hospital rooms and nursing, over-the-counter drugs and general medical examinations. Currently, there are about 132,500 hospitals and clinics in Japan with a capacity of about 1.6 million beds.
“Health care is becoming a very big market in Japan, and this is a very good opportunity to promote U.S. exports,” Takada said.
Any dent that the United States can make in the Japanese market would help ease its enormous trade deficit with that country. Last year, the bilateral trade gap amounted to $50 billion, and Department of Commerce officials say they expect it to widen this year despite the fall in the value of the dollar.
250 Booths at Fair
The fair, only for Japanese buyers, will have 250 booths, and Takada said he expects all to be filled.
“U.S. technology is very advanced in this field,” he said. “U.S. manufacturers need to participate because the Japanese are not familiar with their products.”
He said JETRO will arrange seminars for American participants on their specific market in Japan and on how to do business there. It also will arrange, at no cost, business meetings with prospective customers.
“We are cooperating with the Department of Commerce and the chambers of commerce in other cities regarding the fair,” he said.
Products for which Japan would offer a market include X-ray scanners, anesthesia apparatus, artificial heart/lung machines, artificial organs, wheelchairs, patient carrying carts, hearing aids and accessories, physical therapy equipment and natural and organic foods and nutritional drinks.
Japan and the United States have stepped up their trade talks since last year under a new forum called the market-oriented sector specific (MOSS) program. MOSS talks are designed to deal with specific sectors instead of talking about trade in general.
The medical equipment sector figured in the MOSS talks last year, and Commerce Department officials hope the Osaka fair will help generate follow-up results.
“Certainly we see what JETRO is doing as an encouraging step in the spirit of MOSS negotiations,” said Mike Stevens, managing director for export promotion in the international trade administration for the Commerce Department.
“The medical market in Japan is one the U.S. business community would like to penetrate because there has not been a major presence before. Our industry has clear leadership in this field, and the fair can be a positive step if it also produces sales results.”
