Orthopaedic surgery in Japan

Abstract

The Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) was founded in 1926. when the first meeting was held with Professor Yashinan Toshiro from Tokyo University as the first president. An annual meeting has been held ever since. and we celebratedour 60th anniversary in 1986. In the early years Japan learned orthopaedic surgery from Germany. but in the years following the Second World War, Great Britain and the United States had greater influence. The texi book and the Journal for Orthopaedic Surgery has gradually changed from ‘Fritz Lange’ and ‘Zeitschrift’ to ‘Whitman’ and ‘JBJS‘. The oficial journal. ‘The Journal of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association’. has been published monthly since the JOA’a inception. The papers are mostly written in Japanese. with t,tbles. figures and summary in English. There are now X0 medical schools, all of which have independent departments of orthopaedic surgery. Fifty-six medical schools are run by either the Ministry of Education or by local government. The rest are privately-run. When the JOA was founded its membership was approximately 100. By February 1987. it had increased to 12 768, including orthopaedic trainees. There are 5 1 honorary members. 13 international corresponding members and 130 council members. Some of the council members organist about 20 committees to plan for and manage the Association. There are 6730 orthopaedic surgeons who have qualified from the JOA Examination Board. About 4000 orthopaedic surgeons are now on training programmes. In 1983. the JOA inaugurated a 6 year course, which