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Cited by 36Ethics and bioethics in healthcareMedical and Health Sciences ResearchEthics in Clinical Research

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 10 of the 10 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Contemporary issues concerning informed consent in Japan based on a review of court decisions and characteristics of Japanese culture

Open access
Masaki, Sakiko, Ishimoto, Hiroko, Asai, Atsushi·2014·BMC Medical Ethics
DOI 10.1186/1472-6939-15-8PMC PMC3923408
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Since Japan adopted the concept of informed consent from the West, its inappropriate acquisition from patients in the Japanese clinical setting has continued, due in part to cultural aspects. Here, we discuss the current status of and contemporary issues surrounding informed consent in Japan, and how these are influenced by Japanese culture. DISCUSSION: Current legal norms towards informed consent and information disclosure are obscure in Japan. For instance, physicians in Japan do not have a legal duty to inform patients of a cancer diagnosis. To gain a better understanding of these issues, we present five court decisions related to informed consent and information disclosure. We then discuss Japanese culture through reviews of published opinions and commentaries regarding how culture affects decision making and obtaining informed consent. We focus on two contemporary problems involving informed consent and relevant issues in clinical settings: the misuse of informed consent and persistence in obtaining consent. For the former issue, the phrase "informed consent" is often used to express an opportunity to disclose medical conditions and recommended treatment choices. The casual use of the expression "informed consent" likely reflects deep-rooted cultural influences. For the latter issue, physicians may try to obtain a signature by doing whatever it takes, lacking a deep understanding of important ethical principles, such as protecting human dignity, serving the patient's best interest, and doing no harm in decision-making for patients.There is clearly a misunderstanding of the concept of informed consent and a lack of complete understanding of ethical principles among Japanese healthcare professionals. Although similar in some respects to informed consent as it originated in the United States, our review makes it clear that informed consent in Japan has clear distinguishing features. SUMMARY: Japanese healthcare professionals should aim to understand the basic nature of informed consent, irrespective of their attitudes about individualism, liberalism, and patient self-determination. If they believe that the concept of informed consent is important and essential in Japanese clinical settings, efforts should be made to obtain informed consent in an appropriate manner.

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Research works printed but not linked: 23

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Metadata

Authors
Masaki, S., Ishimoto, H., & Asai, A.
Affiliations
Kumamoto University (JP)
Corresponding author
Masaki, Sakiko
ORCID
Venue
BMC Medical Ethics
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2014-02-04
Volume
15
Issue
1
Pages
8-8
ISSN
1472-6939 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1472-6939-15-8
PMC
PMC3923408
OpenAlex
W1966411468
Cited by
34
References
10
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 2
FWCI
3.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
  • cc-by
  • creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 (tdm)
Locations
  • BMC Medical Ethics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics and bioethics in healthcare
  • Social Sciences › Law › Medical and Health Sciences Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics in Clinical Research
Keywords
informed consent, Japanese culture, judicial decisions, information disclosure, physician duty to inform, cancer diagnosis disclosure, medical ethics, patient autonomy, best interests, human dignity, individualism, liberalism, Japan
MeSH terms
Cultural Characteristics, Decision Making, Ethics, Medical, Female, Humans, Informed Consent, Japan, Jurisprudence, Legislation, Medical, Male, Patient Advocacy, Physician-Patient Relations, Physicians, Truth Disclosure, Risk Assessment, Patient Rights, Personhood, Disclosure, Patient Access to Records

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