Japan Medical Association

What Japan Medical Association does

The Japan Medical Association (公益社団法人 日本医師会, JMA) is a public interest incorporated association founded in 1916 and headquartered in Bunkyo, Tokyo, that represents licensed physicians in Japan. It operates a hierarchical three-tier structure in which physicians belong to municipal medical associations, which in turn belong to 47 prefectural associations that constitute the national JMA. Its primary functions are continuing medical education, professional support, practice management resources, health policy advocacy, and representation before the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and other government bodies. Service distribution flows through the prefectural and municipal association network, supplemented by a Members Room portal, public-facing health information, and dedicated helplines for issues such as patient harassment.

The JMA's technology stack is built around member-facing digital platforms rather than a unified product suite. Core systems include 日医Lib (NichiI Lib), an e-book service for the JMA Journal and other publications distributed via iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac apps; 日本医師会生涯教育on-line, the online continuing medical education platform issuing curriculum codes and credits; 日医on-line, a news service; the member-exclusive Health Food Safety Information System for adverse-event reporting on supplements; and JMAP.jp for regional medical and nursing care delivery coordination. Supporting services include a Cybersecurity Support System for medical institutions, a Patient Harassment and Online Defamation Consultation Hotline, and a designated Family Doctor (kakaritsuke) training program. A subsidiary, 日医Lib, operates the e-book platform, while system operations are contracted to Kyorin-sha Co., Ltd.

The JMA's revenue model is that of a membership-driven public interest corporation, not a commercial enterprise. Income is generated through tiered membership dues flowing up from individual physicians via municipal and prefectural associations, paid training and certification programs (for example, Health Sports Medicine Training at ¥10,000–¥18,000 per session, ICT-based Home Care Training at ¥2,500 in materials fees), and publications distributed through 日医Lib, with many seminars provided free to members on a freemium basis. Financial figures are not publicly disclosed. Recent strategic activity centers on digital transformation (medical DX, AI-themed forums, electronic prescriptions), expansion of telemedicine-adjacent training (remote death diagnosis support for nurses), and community-based care initiatives such as the Third Home Medical Care Symposium.

Name

Japan Medical Association

Legal name

公益社団法人 日本医師会

Website

https://med.or.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1916

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Japan Medical Association (JMA) is a public interest incorporated association founded in 1916 that represents licensed Japanese physicians through 47 prefectural and numerous municipal medical associations. It delivers continuing medical education, professional support, health policy advocacy, and member-facing digital platforms including 日医Lib and online CME.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Physician Professional Association Services

NAICS

Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare & Clinical Professional Development (CME/CE) (EDAGANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Patient Advocacy, Navigation & Access to Care (BPAGACAH), Medical & Clinical Reference (Physicians, Nursing, Allied Health) (EDAGAGAA)

Keywords

• Medical association services
• Continuing medical education
• Physician membership support
• Medical policy advocacy
• Health information systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Dues/Subscriptions: The JMA operates as a public interest corporation with membership fees from affiliated prefectural and municipal medical associations. Doctors join through local medical associations, creating a tiered membership structure.
2. Seminars and Training Programs: Revenue generated from educational programs and training courses. Some programs are free for members while non-members pay fees. Examples include Health Sports Medicine Training (¥10,000-18,000) and various specialized workshops.
3. Publications and Content: Revenue from publications including the Japanese Medical Journal (日本医師会雑誌), JMA Journal, and other medical literature distributed through the 日医Lib platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Japan Medical Association provides professional support services to physicians in Japan through a network of 47 prefectural and numerous municipal medical associations. Its core offerings include a continuing medical education (CME) system with online curricula, a digital e-book library (日医Lib), regional medical information systems, cybersecurity support for medical institutions, family doctor (かかりつけ医) training, patient harassment and online defamation consultation, and health food safety reporting. It additionally delivers public-facing health information, symposia, and policy advocacy to improve national healthcare.

Product overview

The Japan Medical Association operates a unified platform of digital services centered on member support and public health education. The core offerings include 日医Lib for e-books and digital publications, 日本医師会生涯教育on-line for continuing medical education, and 日医on-line for news distribution. Supporting services include the health food safety reporting system, regional medical information exchange platforms, cybersecurity support, patient harassment consultation, and family doctor training programs. These services are primarily targeted at JMA member physicians with some public-facing health information components, and operate as distinct web-based platforms rather than an integrated product suite.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 日医Lib (NichiI Lib): E-book service providing access to Japan Medical Association Journal and various medical publications for smartphones, tablets, and computers.
• JMA Journal
• 日医かかりつけ医機能研修制度
• 日医Payeeハラスメント・ネット相談窓口
• 健康食品安全情報システム

Products and services

• 日医Lib (JMA Lib) E-book service that provides access to the Japan Medical Association Journal and various medical publications via dedicated apps for iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows, and Mac.
• 日本医師会生涯教育on-line (JMA Continuing Education Online) Online education platform for JMA members to earn continuing education credits and curriculum codes as part of the JMA Continuing Education System.
• 日医on-line (JMA Online) Online news service providing the JMA Magazine (日医ニュース) and medical news updates to members and the public.
• 健康食品安全性情報システム (Health Food Safety Information System) Member-exclusive system where JMA doctors report health damage cases caused by health foods and supplements, collecting data to provide countermeasures and guidance to medical professionals.
• 地域医療情報システム (Regional Medical Information System / JMAP.jp) Platform enabling regional medical associations and members to examine healthcare and nursing care delivery systems across different areas.
• 日本医師会サイバーセキュリティ支援制度 (JMA Cybersecurity Support System) Cybersecurity support program providing resources and assistance to medical institutions and practitioners to protect against digital threats.
• かかりつけ医機能研修制度 (Family Doctor Function Training System) Designated family physician training program system for continuous professional development that defines and develops 'family doctor' (kakaritsuke) capabilities.
• ペイシェントハラスメント・ネット上の悪質な書込み相談窓口 (JMA Patient Harassment and Online Defamation Consultation Hotline) Consultation window for doctors experiencing patient harassment or malicious online postings, providing support and guidance for handling such incidents.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, supporting and regional.

• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省)coreOthersThe JMA works closely with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on healthcare policy, medical system reform, physician work style reform, and various public health initiatives including vaccination campaigns and health food safety.
• Japan Council for Quality Health Care (日本医療機能評価機構)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the Medical Dialogue Promotion Seminar (医療対話推進者養成セミナー), jointly working on conflict management training for healthcare settings.
• Prefectural Medical Associations (都道府県医師会)coreOthers47 prefectural medical associations are constituent members of the Japan Medical Association, forming the organizational backbone of the association's nationwide coverage.
• Japan Medical Association of Medical and Health Science (日本医学会)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative relationship for organizing medical academic symposiums such as the Japanese Medical Association General Assembly (日本医学会総会) and related medical education events.
• Digital Agency, Ministry of Internal Affairs and CommunicationssupportingOthersCollaboration on medical DX (digital transformation), electronic prescription systems, and telecommunications-based medical services including remote death certification.
• Kagawa Prefecture Medical Association (香川県医師会)regionalOthersRegional partnership for organizing events such as the 'Life Discussion' (人生会議) seminar on advance care planning.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• American Medical Association: The American Medical Association is the closest international analog to JMA: a national professional association of physicians with statutory influence on healthcare policy, JAMA publishing, continuing medical education programs, and digital member services in the United States.
• Bundesärztekammer (German Medical Association): Germany's national physicians' chamber, providing CME, medical publishing, and policy representation at the federal and state (Länder) level; structurally and functionally similar to JMA's national-prefectural model.
• British Medical Association: The BMA is the UK's national physicians' trade union and professional body, offering CME, policy advocacy, publishing (BMJ), and member-only digital services—directly comparable in mandate, structure, and offerings to JMA.
• Australian Medical Association: AMA is the principal professional body for Australian doctors, providing advocacy, continuing professional development, and publications; a direct international peer to JMA in scope and member services.
• Indian Medical Association: IMA is the national voluntary association of physicians in India offering CME, journals, and state-branch representation; comparable to JMA as a physician membership body with branch network and educational mission.
• Canadian Medical Association: CMA represents Canadian physicians through policy advocacy, continuing professional development, and publications (CMAJ), with a federated provincial-territorial structure analogous to JMA's prefectural hierarchy.

Emerging players

• Royal College of Physicians: RCP is a UK-based royal college focused on physician training, examinations, and continuing education; overlapping with JMA's CME and family-doctor training programs but more specialty-focused than JMA's broad physician mandate.

Regional players

• Japan Dental Association: JDA is the national professional association of dentists in Japan, co-developing integrated-care tools with JMA and operating a similar prefectural federation structure; relevant peer for Japanese professional healthcare association benchmarking.
• Japan Pharmaceutical Association: JPA is Japan's national pharmacists' association, structurally analogous to JMA and a frequent co-organizer (e.g., Care Coordination Notebook); comparable in its national-prefectural organization and member-service model, but serving pharmacists rather than physicians.

Broad incumbents

• World Medical Association: The WMA is an international confederation of national medical associations (including JMA as a member), setting global ethics standards and convening physicians worldwide; broader in geographic scope but overlapping in CME and policy advocacy roles.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCrZ632iTbtYlZ5S2CtGh6rA
• Instagraminstagram.com/japanmedicalassociation
• Facebookfacebook.com/japanmedicalassociation.intl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/medical-japan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Japan Medical Association