Present situation and challenges of palliative care in Japan

The modern hospice movement had its formal beginnings in the UK with the opening of St. Christopher's Hospice in 1967. The hospice principles were integrated into palliative care. Palliative care has been widespread and practiced in many countries. The first hospice was opened in 1981 in Japan. Although there was a rapid increase of government-approved palliative care units in Japan, consultation services started recently by hospital-based palliative care teams. Home-based palliative care is in an early phase of development. This paper reviews the history, present situation, challenges of palliative care in Japan in addition to an overview of palliative care in the UK, Australia and the USA.