News on April 3rd reveals that according to a study conducted in Japan, individuals with a university education are about 1.5 times less likely to die prematurely or around the average lifespan compared to those with only a junior high school education.
This marks the first statistical inference in Japan regarding the relationship between educational attainment and mortality rates. Due to disparities in personal income and education levels, resulting differences in health status have been termed as health inequality.
The study findings indicate that the mortality rate for men with junior high school education is approximately 1.4 times higher than those with university education, while for women, it's about 1.5 times higher.
After adjusting for population distribution, the disparity in mortality rates between junior high school and university education levels reaches around 1.5 times for both men and women.
Compared to figures such as 2.2 times higher for men in France and 2.2 times higher for women in Finland, the gap in Japan appears smaller.
The research team suggests that this could be attributed to Japan's high level of hygiene and the universal health insurance system, which makes it easier for Japanese people to access medical services, among other factors.
