Release of Video Profiling the Winners of the 'Japan Medical Association Akahige Award'
The Japan Medical Association has released a re-edited documentary video on its official YouTube channel highlighting the five winners of the 14th 'Akahige Award,' aimed at promoting understanding of local family doctors.
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- 📰 Published: April 1, 2026 at 06:45
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On March 31, the Japan Medical Association (President: Yoshiro Matsumoto) released a re-edited video on its official YouTube channel of the program 'Close Up! The Struggle of Family Doctors: The 14th Akahige Award Winners,' which was broadcast on BS Fuji on March 29.
The 'Japan Medical Association Akahige Award' (hereafter 'Akahige Award') was established in 2012 by the Japan Medical Association and Sankei Shimbun. Its purpose is to spotlight doctors who support the lives of local residents focusing on health in regional medical settings, and by honoring their activities, to contribute to the development of regional medical environments and the enhancement of medical activities.
This video introduces the lives and daily medical activities of the grand prize winners of the 14th 'Japan Medical Association Akahige Award': Morikazu Kimura, Chairman of the Social Welfare Corporation Rakujukai (Fukushima Prefecture); Masahiro Hayashi, Advisor at Miyabayashi Clinic (Saitama Prefecture); Yu Kawamuro, Chairman and Director of Takada Saijo Hospital (Niigata Prefecture); Akira Demizu, Chairman and Director of Demizu Clinic (Osaka Prefecture); and Yuko Maekawa, Director of Cardiology at Tokushima Prefectural Miyoshi Hospital (Tokushima Prefecture), interspersed with interviews from their patients. In addition to scenes from the selection committee, it also covers the award ceremony and reception held in Tokyo, featuring congratulatory remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the Crown Prince and Princess offering words to the winners.
The Japan Medical Association states, 'Through this video, we hope that people will not only learn that regional healthcare is supported by the steady efforts of winners like those featured this time, but also that many people will want to have such a doctor as their own family doctor.'
The 'Japan Medical Association Akahige Award' (hereafter 'Akahige Award') was established in 2012 by the Japan Medical Association and Sankei Shimbun. Its purpose is to spotlight doctors who support the lives of local residents focusing on health in regional medical settings, and by honoring their activities, to contribute to the development of regional medical environments and the enhancement of medical activities.
This video introduces the lives and daily medical activities of the grand prize winners of the 14th 'Japan Medical Association Akahige Award': Morikazu Kimura, Chairman of the Social Welfare Corporation Rakujukai (Fukushima Prefecture); Masahiro Hayashi, Advisor at Miyabayashi Clinic (Saitama Prefecture); Yu Kawamuro, Chairman and Director of Takada Saijo Hospital (Niigata Prefecture); Akira Demizu, Chairman and Director of Demizu Clinic (Osaka Prefecture); and Yuko Maekawa, Director of Cardiology at Tokushima Prefectural Miyoshi Hospital (Tokushima Prefecture), interspersed with interviews from their patients. In addition to scenes from the selection committee, it also covers the award ceremony and reception held in Tokyo, featuring congratulatory remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the Crown Prince and Princess offering words to the winners.
The Japan Medical Association states, 'Through this video, we hope that people will not only learn that regional healthcare is supported by the steady efforts of winners like those featured this time, but also that many people will want to have such a doctor as their own family doctor.'