New York Biz New Year’s Greeting 2016 :US-Japan’s leaders

New York Biz is a major Japanese paper distributed in 36 cities in the United States

Naoko Shimizu, President, Sakura Lifesave Associates, Inc.

“The world has entered the era of knowing what is happening within the hour,” says journalist Ms. Hala Gorani, as the speed of information transmission around the globe continues to accelerate. Mirroring this trend, 2015 was a big year for our company as we saw a large shift in the demographics of patients seeking help from our medical consultation services. Previously, our company had received consultation requests primarily from patients hailing from Japan. This past year however, a significant number of inquiries came from patients living elsewhere around the world, requesting second opinions from top U.S. doctors. We were able to help many people this year. I feel that the world is becoming a smaller place as a result of technological advances.

 

However, as patients around the globe are seeking better and more informed treatments, I have heard from many Japanese patients suffer from a general lack of information from abroad, including overseas treatment options. That is, while much of the world enjoys ready access to information conveyed in English, in Japan, that information is distributed at the discretion of the media, which transmits news from abroad only in Japanese.

 

Of particular note, in 2015, laws and regulations related to reproductive healthcare were revised in many parts of the world. As a result of a general lack of awareness of these changes, Japanese patients have encountered problems seeking care in these locations and have come to us for help, saying unanimously that “there is no information in Japan.” Now that there are no borders to seeking medical care, our company reaffirms its commitment to the distribution of important information from the United States and elsewhere around the world to educate patients in need. Information is power.

 

Thank you and I would like to wish everyone good health and happiness in the New Year.