Current status of robotic partial nephrectomy in Japan

The safety and efficacy of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) has been reported in Western countries. However, there are no similar reported studies of RAPN in Japan. Although common medical services are covered by public health insurance in Japan, RAPN had not been approved as a listed treatment for public insurance. We conducted a prospective clinical trial to confirm the efficacy and safety of RAPN in Japan. The aim of the present review article is to describe current status of RAPN in Japan and to introduce a part of clinical results obtained from the clinical trial. Based on the favorable results obtained in this clinical trial, RAPN was approved in April 2016 by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to be covered by public health insurance. This change allows access to RAPN to everyone in Japan, regardless of wealth. The RAPN techniques used in Japan are also reviewed.