This picture taken Dec. 9, 2025, shows the resume a man presented to a medical institution which includes false claims of education at medical schools and work experience at medical institutions. (Mainichi/Takashi Kawachi)
OSAKA — A man here has been arrested and indicted on suspicion of performing medicine without a license, the latest case in a string of violations of Japan’s Medical Practitioners’ Act by unqualified “doctors.”
The 66-year-old former company executive allegedly falsified his credentials, claiming to have graduated from a prestigious university’s medical school, to gain employment at a cancer treatment clinic in Osaka. He reportedly saw 169 patients, prescribing medication, as the clinic’s director. By promoting his research achievements, he convinced the clinic he was a legitimate doctor.
While the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare urges medical institutions to thoroughly verify doctors’ qualifications, unauthorized medical practices persist.
In a similar 2016 case, a dentist at a Tokyo clinic was arrested and referred to prosecutors for administering unapproved drugs to cancer patients without a medical license. Although dentists are typically allowed to treat oral cancer, the patients in question reportedly had cancer in other areas such as the stomach.
In 2021, a Peruvian man was arrested for performing tumor removal surgery without a license. He allegedly posed as a doctor by wearing a lab coat and purchased medicine including anesthetics from pharmacies.
The Medical Practitioners’ Act requires doctors to report details such as their place of employment and work outlines every two years. In 2007, the ministry introduced a system allowing verification of medical licenses by name based on these reports. However, the system available to the public only confirms whether a person with the entered name holds a medical license. Other information, such as their workplace, cannot be verified, which can lead to confusion with individuals of the same name.
In 2012, the ministry issued a directive to prefectures to ensure medical institutions verify medical licenses and diplomas thoroughly during the hiring process. A ministry official stated, “For medical institutions, verifying a doctor’s original medical license is the most reliable method.”
(Japanese original by Takashi Kawachi, Osaka City News Department)
AloJapan.com