The life expectancy provides valuable information about population health. The life expectancies were evaluated in 12,039 dogs which were buried or cremated during January 2012 to March 2015. The data of dogs were collected at the eight animal cemeteries in Tokyo. The overall life expectancy of dogs was 13.7 (95% confidence interval (CI): 13.7–13.8) years. The probability of death was high in the first year of life, lowest in the fourth year, and increased exponentially after four years of age like Gompertz curve in semilog graph. The life expectancy of companion dogs in Tokyo has increased 1.67 fold from 8.6 years to 13.7 years over the past three decades. Canine crossbreed life expectancy (15.1 years, 95% CI 14.9–15.3) was significantly greater than pure breed life expectancy (13.6 years, 95%CI 13.5–13.7, P-value <0.001). The life expectancy for male and for female dogs were 13.6 (95% CI: 13.5–13.7) and 13.5 (95% CI: 13.4–13.6) years, respectively, with no significant difference (P=0.097). In terms of the median age of death and life expectancy for major breeds, Shiba had the highest median age of death (15.7 years), life expectancy (15.5 years) and French Bulldog had the lowest median age of death (10.2 years), life expectancy (10.2 years). When considering life expectancy alone, these results suggest that the health of companion dogs in Japan has significantly improved over the past 30 years.

SUMMARYJapan has been free from rabies since 1958. A strict import regimen has been adopted since 2004 consisting of identification of an animal with microchip, two-time rabies vaccination, neutralizing antibody titration test and a waiting period of 180 days. The present study aims to quantitatively assess the risk of rabies introduction into Japan through the international importation of dogs and cats and hence provide evidence-based recommendations to strengthen the current rabies prevention system. A stochastic scenario tree model was developed and simulations were run using @RISK. The probability of infection in a single dog or cat imported into Japan is estimated to be 2·16 × 10−9 [90% prediction interval (PI) 6·65 × 10−11–6·48 × 10−9]. The number of years until the introduction of a rabies case is estimated to be 49 444 (90% PI 19 170–94 641) years. The current import regimen is effective in maintaining the very low risk of rabies introduction into Japan and responding to future changes including increases in import level and rabies prevalence in the world. However, non-compliance or smuggling activities could substantially increase the risk of rabies introduction. Therefore, policy amendment which could promote compliance is highly recommended. Scenario analysis demonstrated that the waiting period could be reduced to 90 days and the requirement for vaccination could be reduced to a single vaccination, but serological testing should not be stopped.

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＜15 years of age living in rural areas in developing countries and regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa and southeast and south Asia. Rabies is transmitted through bites from rabid animals, and dogs are the major species involved not only in transmission of rabies to humans but also in the maintenance of the virus in nature (2). Elimination of canine rabies is the most important method of preventing human rabies, and this has been shown to be feasible through sustained vaccination campaigns (3-5). Most industrialized countries have succeeded in eliminating rabies from dog populations through intensive vaccination programs; however, in several developed countries, rabies has been shown to be established in wild carnivores, such as foxes, raccoon dogs, and raccoons, posing a considerable economic burden on these countries (6). Once canine rabies has been eliminated from specific regions or countries, it is essential to maintain a rabiesfree status. Maintenance of a rabies-free status requires CONTENTS: 1. Introduction 2. Rabies in Japan 3. Problem statement associated with current rabies preventive measures in Japan 4. Risk assessment for rabies in Japan 4-1. Risk of rabies introduction into Japan 4-2. Risk of rabies spread in Japan 4-3. Economic burden 5. How to maintain rabies-free status; recommendations by international organizations 6. Measures taken by rabies-free countries or regions to keep their rabies-free status 6-1. United Kingdom(UK)