Factors related to the current situation regarding the protection of patients’ personal information in Japan

Abstract

Since the Act on the Protection of Personal Information was enforced in 2005, the awareness of the protection of personal information has enhanced in Japan. However, this has not raised many problems in the field of medical care, and one can say that the current situation regarding personal information is that patients are not strongly aware about the right to protect personal information. This is believed to be due to the strong influence of Confucianism and Buddhism on Japanese culture. The protection of patients’ rights in regards to patients being unable to express their own will and information sharing among medical staff against patients’ will, with sufficient understanding of the Japanese concept of values and their differences from the US and Europe, are considered future issues of practitioners.