After the COVID-19 pandemic, there had been an overflow of false medical information in Japan, leading to an increase in misguided visits to doctors. There was, therefore, a strong need for awareness of accurate medical information from trusted public institutions.

To disseminate accurate medical information, the City of Yokohama launched a new information dissemination project that went beyond the framework of a traditional governmental initiative and attracted wide attention as a result. The world’s first Medical Manga Award, specializing in healthcare, collaborated with leading organizations and influencers from Japan and abroad to distribute accurate information in manga form from the competition entries.

Following the Medical Manga Award, 580,000 Yokohama residents responded that they learned appropriate medical behavior through the initiative, and 88.5% of respondents considered this innovative approach to medical information to be beneficial.

The initiative was recognized and awarded by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan as a leading approach to medical education.