Iryu Team Medical Dragon

Having fought an authoritarian hospital college as a top professor, prodigal surgeon Asada Ryutaro (Sakaguchi Kenji) is an exile in the medical field. Recruited by assistant professor Kato Akira (Inamori Izumi), who hopes to complete her thesis on the Batista procedure – a delicate technique that involves left ventriculoplasty in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy – Asada agrees, gathering a set of skilled doctors to join him on “Team Dragon.”

In Iryu 2, Asada Ryutaro wages a new battle against the realities of Japan’s medical care system. The government has drafted legislation to tackle the recent inflation of medical fees; hospitals have entered an era in which they will go bankrupt if they aren’t independently run. At the same time, hospital mergers and takeovers are also taking place. Additionally, the obstetrics and pediatrics departments are being closed in succession, and there are inadequate doctors in the region – issues that are closely related to these hospital management problems. Now, hospitals, like the average corporation, face collapse if they are not profitable.

Iryu 3 focuses on the globalization of healthcare and explores the fundamental role of surgeons in modern medicine. This original story weaves together high-stakes global medical competition with intimate human drama, all while exploring life-and-death situations in contemporary healthcare.

Medical care is attempting to expand globally as Japan’s new export product, following automobiles and machinery. Major corporations and trading companies are acquiring overseas hospitals or building new hospitals abroad, aiming to earn foreign currency by treating wealthy patients. Meanwhile, domestically, medium-sized hospitals that have been responsible for regional medical care are struggling financially. Combined with the headwind of doctor shortages, hospitals most needed by patients are closing one after another, leaving many people living in anxious days. In this harsh reality, Asada Ryutaro and “Team Dragon” reunite and begin moving to create their ideal hospital. The new “Medical Dragon 4” finally opens with an unprecedented grand scale!