FORTUNE — The world’s first sterilizable, flexible organic transistor; mobile apps that can measure your pulse just by imaging your face; X-ray machines that capture not just bone but cancer tissue, too. These are just a few of the technologies being developed in Japan now, where an industry has grown around the world-beating longevity of the country’s people. So why don’t we see ”Made in Japan” stamped more often on medical instruments or other products in the medical field?