Hiroshi Natsukawa flies to Beijing regularly to check the international medical tourism market in China. His company, Brisian Co, a Tokyo-based agency that helps to provide medical treatment in Japan, mostly in Tokyo, was set up early last year.

"China is a big market for us," said the Mandarin-speaking Japanese national.

"There are so many wealthy Chinese, and they have heightened sense of quality of life and care about the quality of medical services," he added.