Comparing the Health of Children in Japan and America

by Kate Raines

Published July 3, 2019 | Medicine, Children

Story Highlights

Japanese children are recognized as among the healthiest in the world, while American children compare poorly, despite the U.S. spending more than any other country on health care.
Japan’s vaccine policy is non-compulsory, with vaccines considered either “routine” or “voluntary” but never forced.
High rates of adverse events following MMR and HPV vaccinations led to major vaccine policy changes in Japan and parents and their physicians make personalized decisions about vaccination for each child.

Children in Japan are among the healthiest in the world, while children in the United States rate low on the list of developed nations for health outcome measures. Given that the U.S. spends more than any other country on health care to ensure the health and well-being of its children, what is behind this discrepancy?

Differences in Infant Mortality

One of the measures used to determine a nation’s overall health ranking is infant mortality, which is the number of infants dying before their first birthday per 1,000 live births. Among 223 nations, Japan ranks second, with an infant mortality rate of just 2.2/1,000. Only the tiny country of Monaco boasts a lower rate, at 1.8/1,000. The infant mortality rate for infants born in the U.S. is 5.8/1,000, on par with Serbia, and much higher than Cuba, South Korea and European Union countries.¹ ²
Several factors have been cited to try to rationalize some of the discrepancies. An increased number of pre-term births and differences in reporting methods may affect the numbers. Extremely premature infants, born far too early to survive, are counted as live births in the U.S. if they are born alive, whereas they may be considered and reported as miscarriages or stillbirths in other countries.³
Regardless of pre-term births and differences in reporting, the large gap between a 2.2 infant mortality rate in Japan and the 5.8 infants mortality rate in the U.S. cannot be explained. The reality is that efforts to improve rates of infant mortality in the U.S. lag far behind those of other developed nations.⁴

Cultural, Educational and Economic Influences

It is not only in minimizing infant mortality that Japan has surged ahead of the U.S. in child health rankings. Japan’s overall life expectancy—and, more importantly, a healthy life expectancy—is also much higher in Japan than in any other country. At the end of World War II, Japan had an abysmal health and life expectancy rate, with an overall life expectancy of just 50.1 years for men and 54.0 years for women. Those numbers increased by 13.5 years for males (to 63.6 years) and 13.8 years for females (to 67.8 years) in the 10 years following the end of the War.
Current life expectancy in Japan averages 81.1 years for men and 87.1 for women,⁵ and healthy, disease-free life expectancy has been calculated at 73 years for men and 78 years for women.⁶
In comparison to Japan, the U.S. has a lower life expectancy and it is getting worse. A U.S. government report published at the end of 2018 revealed that life expectancy in the U.S. dropped in 2017 to 78.6 years, with young adults in their 20s and 30s dying prematurely from drug overdoses and suicide contributing to the dropping life expectancy.⁷ The top five leading causes for death in the U.S. are heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory disease and stroke.
Much credit has been given to Japan’s vastly improved economy compared to pre- and immediate post-war periods, but the rapid increase in life expectancy was apparent well before the country’s economic recovery. Medical advances certainly played a big role, but a new national emphasis on education, improved health laws, and community-based initiatives designed to address quality of life in rural areas were also largely responsible.⁸
The seeds of these social improvements were planted in the early 1900s, with free compulsory education and newly available social services, and furthered in 1961 with the introduction of universal health insurance.⁹

Healthy Daily Practices

Some of the simplest, most obvious factors in keeping Japanese children healthy are a seemingly nationwide emphasis on exercise and good nutrition, as well as a commitment to hygienic practices and regular health screenings.
The vast majority of Japanese schoolchildren (98.3 percent) either walk or bike to school, which has been linked to the low rate of childhood obesity in the country. School lunch programs in Japan also help set the stage for a healthy relationship with food, with most foods locally sourced and prepared fresh at the schools.¹⁰ Unhealthy choices are not offered, and children take part in planning, preparing, serving and cleaning up after meals, as well as learning about nutrition.
Naomi Moriyama, author of “Secrets of the World’s Healthiest Children,” stresses that it isn’t necessary to switch to a diet of “seaweed, sushi, and tofu to nourish a healthy child–just tweak your family food habits in a more healthy direction. Serve more plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, and healthy fats, like heart-healthy omega 3-rich fish, and less processed food with added sugars and salt.”¹¹

Vaccination Policy

Another piece of the puzzle that may contribute to the healthy status of Japan’s children is the government’s policies on vaccination. Unlike the U.S., Japan does not mandate any vaccines at all, but categorizes all available vaccines as “routine” or “voluntary.”¹² ¹³Routine vaccines are covered under the government’s universal health plan if given within a specific timeline, while voluntary vaccines are available for self-pay.
It hasn’t always been that way. Although Japan led the way in improving the safety of the whole cell pertussis (DPT) vaccine by licensing a less reactive acellular version (DTaP) in 1981,¹⁴ prior to 1994, vaccination was considered a social obligation and was paid for by the government, with fines for those who refused. After losing a series of lawsuits for victims of vaccine injuries, the government revised their vaccine policies, doing away with mandated vaccinations given in public health centers, and giving the responsibility for vaccination to parents and their personal physicians.¹⁵
One of the vaccines that prompted the 1994 revision of the Vaccination Act was the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) combination vaccine. Introduced in 1989, the vaccine was associated with thousands of serious side effects, including aseptic meningitis. Data showed over one three-month period, one in 900 children had an adverse reaction, more than 2,000 times the expected rate of one in 100,000 to 200,000. Even after switching to a different type of MMR, the high incidence of severe reactions continued and the triple combination vaccine was banned.¹⁶ ¹⁷
Japan still recommends a combination measles and rubella (MR) vaccine, which is on the non-compulsory routine schedule, while the separate mumps vaccine is on the voluntary schedule. According to Hiroki Nakatani, MD, Director of the Infectious Disease Division at Japan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, the individual vaccines cost twice as much as MMR ‘but we believe it is worth it’.¹⁸
Another controversial vaccine no longer on the government recommended schedule in Japan is the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine. Introduced in Japan in 2009, the HPV vaccine was added to the list of recommended vaccines in April of 2013. However, the vaccine was quickly associated with a high number of reports of severe side effects after it was given widely to young girls and women and, by June 2013, recommendation for routine HPV vaccination had been suspended. Subsequently, the HPV vaccination rate fell from 70 percent to one percent. The government has also set up advisory panels to evaluate HPV vaccine adverse events.¹⁹
An attorney group representing some of the victims of HPV vaccination in Japan, who are suing HPV vaccine manufacturers, claims that several studies have made solid progress in clarifying the biological mechanisms for some of the adverse reactions. They are calling for “the government and drugmakers not to spread harm any further…”²⁰
Countering some who suggest that Japan’s vaccination policies should more closely match those of the U.S., Hiroko Mori, former head of the infectious diseases department at the National Institute of Public Health and author of the Guidebook on Vaccines for Children and Parents, believes there is too much pressure for everyone to get vaccinated and no one should be forced into vaccinating themselves or their children. She is quoted as saying, “Some of these diseases may have been devastatingly fatal in the past, but we live in a day and age where they aren’t nearly as fatal … especially with the high standards of health here, it’s not necessary for everyone to be forced into getting immunized against all such diseases.”²¹

Should Japan Be the Role Model for the U.S.?

It should be noted that there’s another side to Japan’s current status at the top of the health and wellness charts: As many Japanese move toward a more Western diet and more sedentary lifestyle, obesity and related health issues are creeping up. Considerable social stressors such as long, six-day workweeks (suicides and death from overwork are serious issues), as well as the common use of such unhealthy stress reducers such as alcohol and cigarette smoking, are also creating new public health challenges.²²
Nevertheless, the evidence is pretty compelling that, as a nation, the U.S. is not doing nearly enough to protect the health of our children. In side-by-side snapshots of the U.S., where “Half of America’s Kids Suffer from Chronic Illness and It’s Getting Worse,”²³ and Japan, where children can expect to grow and lead long, healthy lives, it may be time to take a closer look at and learn from Japan’s more holistic, personalized public health policies.

This article or commentary provides referenced information and perspective on a topic related to vaccine science, policy, law or ethics being discussed in public forums and by U.S. lawmakers. The websites of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) provide information and perspective of federal agencies responsible for vaccine research, development, regulation and policymaking.
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Templeton Times

Thursday, July 4, 2019