TOP > About JAC >2015 Athens Greece
WFC Biennial Congress JAPAN COUNTRY REPORT 2015 Athens Greece& Assembly
May 11th 2015
For the 13th WFC Assembly Country Report
The Japanese Association of Chiropractors has 420 members including student members. There is currently one CCEA accredited school, Tokyo College of Chiropractic in Japan.
Next year we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary since chiropractic was introduced by Saburo Kawaguchi, a Japanese chiropractor who graduated from Palmer school and returned to Japan in 1916. The first Japanese chiropractor was Shigetaro Morikubo, as you might have seen his photo in a textbook of where DD Palmer is adjusting him. But he didn't return to Japan after his graduation of Palmer school and the famous Morikubo legal case.
Japan is often being said to be a unique country in many ways and our situation that the profession still has not been regulated after 100 years since the first introduction of chiropractic is definitely a unique situation, when compared to some other countries.
Since the last Assembly, we have accomplished some significant events which will be a strong foundation of our future legislation.
In October 2014 and April 2015, a self-regulatory registration body, JCR (Japan Chiropractic Register) submitted the list of registrants (who meet the WHO-standard chiropractic education) to the Director of Medical Office, Health Policy Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). At the same time JCR (Japan Chiropractic Register) commenced its official registration and currently 450 chiropractors are registered with the JCR whose list is open to public.
This is the biggest and most exciting news since the last congress. Now for the first time ever, our government knows how many chiropractors exist and where they are practicing in Japan. We estimate there are still 350 people who are eligible but haven't registered with JCR. We hope the rest of people will register in order to show more numbers to the Ministry.
Other major events include publishing the first professional guidelines, Chiropractic Guidelines-Safety and Advertising in 2013 and starting the Safety Training Program for substandard chiropractors in 2014 at the request of a government agency, NCAC (National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan). This program was strongly requested by the government agency in order to promote public safety in where many substandard-practitioners are still practicing chiropractic in Japan.
We are facing both internal and external challenges to follow an acceptable code of professional ethics and international rules. As a part of the international community, we will make every effort for establishing a world-class ethical, respectful chiropractic profession.
Prepared and presented by Dr Kei Takeyachi