title: An examination of the influence of traditional therapeutic systems on the practice of cosmopolitan medicine in Japan.
abstract: The Japanese health care system is frequently criticized within Japan for the over-prescription of medication. This problem is analyzed by examining the modern medical system as a cultural construct. Attitudes towards medication derived from the traditional East Asian medical system are delineated and their reinforcement through other cultural institutions is discussed. The implications of the persistence of these attitudes for contemporary medical practice is presented.
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007564:Japan; D008518:Medicine, East Asian Traditional; D012962:Sociology, Medical; D014504:Urban Health