Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Fujitsu and SoftBank are forming a healthcare alliance in an effort to help contain Japan¡¯s ballooning medical costs through tech initiatives.?
With the country facing the ¡°2040 problem,¡±?in which the second baby-boomer generation will enter old age, the country¡¯s healthcare expenditures are projected to surge from nearly ?50 trillion a year ($315 billion) to the ?70 trillion-to-?80 trillion level by 2040.
A shrinking working-age population means that rising medical costs will heavily burden the young, who pay most of the premiums to keep Japan¡¯s universal healthcare system funded.
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