[Critical evaluation of the current status of general hospital psychiatry in Japan]

The number of beds necessary for medical care was determined in 1985 by the Secondary Medical Law Act, therefore community medical care has been functioning well. However, the number of beds necessary for mental care is still defined according to each prefecture, which results that community mental care is not always adequate. The total number of beds for the mentally ill is 360,000, of which general hospitals have only approximately 20,000 (5.8%). This means that in-patient mental care in Japan mostly depends upon mental hospitals. In order to promote mental care in general hospitals and to improve the position of psychiatrists in all medical fields, the Japanese Society of General Hospital Psychiatry (JSGHP) was established in 1988. In this article, the author describe the current problems in mental care and discuss about the topics concerning general hospital psychiatry in Japan.