"World Rare and Intractable Disease Day" started in Europe in 2008 and is held in more than 70 locations in Japan this year. 41 organizations set up booths and held exhibits introducing the disease and their activities.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, there are approximately 1 million patients in Japan with designated intractable diseases. It has been pointed out that because the number of patients is small and the disease mechanism is complex, research into therapeutic drugs is slow and takes time to make a diagnosis.