Is the reported high mortality from cerebrovascular disease in Japan really an artefact?

Cerebral hemorrhage is clearly over-represented in the mortality statistics in Japan. Cerebral thromboembolism is the most frequent type of cerebral vascular disease in Japan as elsewhere. Despite a steady decline of stroke mortality since 1966, cerebral vascular disease is currently as common as malignant neoplasms as a cause of death in Japan. The mortality, prevalence and incidence rates for stroke are undoubtedly higher in Japan than in the U.S. This is true even when the comparison is limited to Americans of Japanese ancestry.