[Minimum Requirement : The Advantage of Psychiatric Specialist Training]

The Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology has been discussing what a Psychiatric Specialist should be for a long time. Although the so-called 'Yamauchi Report' eventually determined the professional accreditation system in 1994, it was not until 2006 that the first Psychiatric Specialist was accredited. Recently, the system that has been operated for 10 years is markedly changing. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) launched an explanatory committee to discuss what a Psychiatric Specialist ought to be, and published a report in April 2013, which led to the inauguration of The General Incorporated Association of Japanese Medical Specialty Board as a trusted third party in May 2014. Thereafter, it set up a new training and accreditation system for Psychiatric Specialists, which is starting in 2017. With such situation in mind, in this paper, I explore the qualities a Psychiatric Specialist needs to acquire and the sort of professional training they shall undertake. I discuss reforming educational programs in medical schools, a clearer picture of a Specialist that the Psychiatric Specialist Investigative Commission at the MHLW and the Japanese Medical Specialty Board suggested, and the way a Psychiatric Specialist ought to be, which the Japanese Society of Psy- chiatry and Neurology has been considering. I emphasize that the methodology to achieve the goal is changing markedly along with the globalization of medical education; however, the phi- losophy, mission, and outcome of the Psychiatric Specialist system should not change.