Japan S 100 Year Old Doctor Still Caring For Patients In Wakayama

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AT 100 years old, a doctor in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, continues to dedicate herself to caring for her community.
Dr Teru Kasamatsu still sees patients three times a week at Kasamatsu Hospital in Kainan City, a facility overlooking Wakayama Bay that has been serving locals since 1909.
Calm and cheerful in her white coat, she welcomes patients warmly before carefully reviewing their records.
Her philosophy as a doctor has always been simple: listen to what patients want to say.
The hospital is now overseen by her second son, Dr Satoshi, who serves as director, while his wife Hitomi heads the nursing department.
Both describe her as a deeply respected figure whose patients trust her completely.
“She has a gift for putting people at ease, which makes it easier for them to talk openly,” Satoshi said. Hitomi added that even light conversations with Dr Kasamatsu often help ease patients’ worries.
Born in 1925 in Kinokawa, she was the youngest of five children. Her father encouraged her to pursue medicine during the war, urging her to become independent as many women lost their husbands at the time.
After completing her medical degree in 1948, she married orthopaedic surgeon Dr Shigeru and joined him in running the family hospital.
Together, they raised three children while treating an ever-growing number of patients. At the busiest of times, she remembers seeing more than 100 patients in a single day and staying up overnight to assist with emergency surgeries.
She also took on roles beyond medicine, even earning a cooking licence in her thirties so she could prepare meals for hospital inpatients when no cook was available.
Despite her heavy workload, Dr Kasamatsu remained strong, even overcoming cancer later in life. She attributes her longevity to healthy eating, emphasising vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, cabbage, and okra, which she says help regulate blood sugar levels.
Her husband passed away in 2012 at the age of 91, but she continues to live independently in a house next to the hospital.
Remarkably, she can still walk without a cane and keeps herself mentally sharp through daily number crosswords, which she believes help stave off dementia.
Outside of medicine, she enjoys playing the piano, a hobby she picked up at 70 after being inspired by her late husband.
She now plays confidently, attends weekly lessons, and has even performed Beethoven’s Für Elise on stage alongside younger musicians.
Even now, Dr Kasamatsu remains eager to keep learning, reading medical journals whenever she finds time.
“I feel perfectly fine,” she said with a smile, adding that she has no plans to retire anytime soon. — Focus Malaysia

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