I participated in the WFAS 2011 International Acupuncture Symposium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which was the first conference in South America, on the theme of Traditional Medicine and Human Health. I had opportunities in this conference to survey and cover the history, situation and regulamentation of acupuncture in Brazil, in addition to the situation of Japanese Acupuncture taking root in Brazil. Iwould like to report it with some informations from the brazilian authorities.

The World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies (WFAS) 2011 International Acupuncture Conference was held in Sao Paolo, Brazil on November 5 - 6, 2011. The theme was "Traditional Medicine and Human Health -Acupuncture Research, Education, Regulamentation and Clinical Practice."
This was the first conference of WFAS in the Central and South American region. It was highlighted that acupuncture is included in the public health system of Brazil and supported by Brazilian government.
At the executive meeting which was held on the 4th, it was announced that Extra points nomenclature and location would be on the next standardization table. Also, the preparation process of the International Acupuncture Proficiency Test was reported. They announced that they would run International Multicenter Clinical Trials in the newly established Scientific Working Committee of WFAS.
Conference organization showed serious confusion. A protest letter from the domestic organizing committee was delivered. It led to the sudden cancelation of the closing ceremony.

[Introduction]The number of foreign residents in Japan reached 1.7%of the national population at the end of 2010, and currently the number of foreign permanent residents is increasing. Althogh this “domestic globalization”has been in progress for some time, the health status and needs of foreign residents for acupuncture treatment are not known to acupuncture practitioners in Japan. The purpose of this study is to reveal the proportion of potential demand for acupuncture by examining the consultation records for medical informations from foreigners living in Japan.
[Method]From all the records of telephone consultation for medical information by foreign residents from all over the country to AMDA International Medical Information Center in 2010, we extracted the consultations associated with acupuncture.
[Results]Among a total of 2,172 consultations, 6calls were associated with acupuncture (0.3%). Most of the foreign residents who made these consultations were from South America. 4calls were requests for information about acupuncture clinics from foreigners suffering from orthopedic disease or symptoms (66.7%). With respect to the consultion languages, 4consulters accepted inquiries in Japanese (66.7%).
[Discussion]Foreign residents who expect acupuncture treatment are not common, but it became obvious that some foreigners have difficulty finding acupuncture clinics and information in Japan. There were some cases that should have been applicable to acupuncture, but were instead directed to other diagnosis departments or hospitals. One reason for this consequence seems to be the lack of information among foreign residents about the indications and therapeutic effects of acupuncture. Considering the influx of foreigners and the aging of foreign residents, the possibility of foreigners reciving acupuncture treatment may be developed by appropriate distribution of information.