Getting doctored up...in Japan

The most common greeting in Japan, "Ogenki desuka?" is literally translated, "Are you healthy?" I'm used to it now, but when I first came here, I was surprised by the overriding focus on staying healthy.  On the other hand, I think Americans are focused on being happy.  Similarly, I think Japanese are concerned with length of life, while Americans are more concerned with quality of life.  Part of the quality Americans strive for is a life with as few doctor visits as possible.  "An apple a day keeps the doctor AWAY," right?  


Conversely, everyone here is constantly going to the doctor and it seems the more medical tests the better.  One that is especially popular is the "stomach camera."  The doctor threads it down the patient's throat to have a look around.  This is like a piece of cake to the people here (though harder to swallow).  Japanese will get an I.V. like we would take an aspirin, and I'm not kidding.  I've literally run away from a nurse here trying to stick an I.V. needle in me because I had a bad cold.  Another time, I told the doctor I had a sinus infection and soon met a cousin of the stomach camera, the throat camera.  My friend laughed while the doctor stuck a camera up my nose down to my throat as a single tear ran down my cheek.  After that and an X-ray, the doctor pronounced that I had a sinus infection.  Not only are doctor's offices very popular and full of people, but hospital rooms here also accommodate 6 to 8 patients at a time so that you are never lonely.


I would say Japan beats America in the health industry in that they outlive us, and who can argue with that?  But America is and has long been more concerned with mental/emotional health than Japan has until very recently.   I know a Japanese mom who has ordered products and sought advice from American websites for her slightly autistic child and felt that her child was helped very much.  While she had lived abroad and was a good English speaker, what about all those children whose moms can't read English?  Come on...get help from us, or get help somewhere....www.noah-digital.co.jp/english/