Abstract
When we want to discuss medical ethics in education, we have to consider the roll and the activity of the law, especially in malpractice cases, as well as philosophical viewpoints. Since World War H, the number of malpractice cases and suits has been increasing at an unprecedented rate in Japan. This increase has brought law and medicine into closer relationship, but also has created tention between the two. Today,the lack of moral foundations among physicians, the secretiveness of the medical profession and the resulting uneasy relationship between physicians and patients is often pointed out. Since Japanese law has traditionally respected the autonomy of physicians, until recently, the question whether certain medical practices violated medical ethics has seldom been brought to trial. But soon, as the result of court decisions, we can expect to see the enactment of improved civil and medical laws. So medical students should focus on building character, and need to take a stronger interest in such laws, to develop their discipline and bring it into line with other sciences and humanities.
