In stark contrast to the uniformity of the payment system by social insurers and patients, Japan’s hospital sector
is characterised by a diversity of ownership types [22,23]: ownership by government at various levels from the national to the municipal levels, as well as by physicians and their families and by organisations such as farmers’ associations, charity bodies, and social insurers. In the United States, hospital ownership has been found to influence reductions in LOS [24,25]. However, no study to date has looked at the relationship between hospital ownership and
reductions in LOS in Japan.