Is there any laws in japan in relation to gaijin becoming doctors?

Question

im currently studying medicine at trinity collage dublin, (the best collage in ireland) and i relay want to move to japan, but i also relay want to become a surgeon, i was thinking of transferring to the university of tokyo (i know what's involved, and its easier to move to japan from ireland than america) but is there any laws preventing me from practicing medicine in japan? have any of you ever seen a white doctor in japan? thanks.

Answer 1

I haven't heard of too many white doctors in Japan but there is a reason for this; it is not so much racism, as medical standards you probably know, are the same all over the world, so much as a language barrier.  Tokyo University is infamous for how difficult it is, and even well-prepared native speakers of Japanese have a terrible time with the place.  At Tokyo U, you eat, breathe, and sh*t studying.  No free time at all, your life is studying, eating, and sleeping.  Also the medical school there is one of the best in east Asia, what few non-Japanese east Asians can speak it, wanting to become doctors to be competitive, it is the first place they aim for.

You could say that Tokyo U's medical school is the Edinburgh University of east Asia; in the same way the University at Edinburgn in Scotland is the best medical school in Europe (and the world I hear), Tokyo U has the best medical school in all east Asia.  Again though, between the language barrier, and the work load being too much to handle even for native Japanese, those two would have to be the main reasons why you do not see very many white doctors in Japan, the few you do see probably have freakishly high I.Q.'s.  Or, they are Edinburgh University graduates.

I can understand why you would want to move to Japan; Japanese medicine, is more complete than western, the reason that is that while their medical school teaches the latest in western medicine, Tokyo U's curriculum also has an extensive set of coursework on accupuncture, and accupressure, meaning they practice traditional Chinese medicine as well.  In other words to become a doctor in Japan, is to acquire knowledge both in western medicine, as well as Chinese; as a doctor you would be complete.

From my understanding, western medicine is based around chemistry; all a doctor ultimately is, is a chemist who applies their knowledge to the human body.  Whereas a Chinese doctor, their medicine is based around the body's nervous system, and their seeming miracles, are in fact knowledge stumbled upon over centuries.  Had they approached it scientifically, Chinese medicine would have been where it is now, 1,500 years ago.  Chinese accupuncture discoveries, were indeed trial and error.

As to your worries about Japanese racism, generally educated Japanese are less so than the general public, so if I was you I would worry less about Japanese attitudes, and more about the work load and language barrier.  I hear that Dublin school you are going to is highly regarded, so assuming you pass the language test, anticipate no problems.

However if I was in your place, seeing things from your perspective, in your position, if I could, I would learn the Japanese language better than the Japanese themselves if at all possible.  Between the subject matter you are studying, the insane workloads of Tokyo U AND the language barrier h**l man.... why are you wasting time here!?

good luck.

Answer 2

Personally, I have never seen a white doctor.

There is no law to really prevent you from becoming a doctor in Japan.

But you have to learn what Japanese students learn during 12 years between elementary and high school first.

Then you have to take entrance exams of universities to join. Then you go to medical school for 6 years.

I don't think there is any way to "transfer" to University of Tokyo. It's not as easy as you think.

Answer 3

To be a doctor in Japan you need to graduate from a Japanese college. To do that you need to be able to speak, read and write Japanese at a college level.

You can't practice medicine in Japan.