Pneumonia is the 3rd leading cause of death in Japan according to the statistics of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Although the mortality of pneumonia is increasing exponentially in people aged 75 and older, this is attributed to the aging of the social population Actually the age-standardized annual death from pneumonia per 100,000 inhabitants is decreasing. Furthermore the age-sex-standardized mortality of Japan is as good as other advanced nations, according to data of the World Health Organization (WHO), or less than 100 per 100,000 inhabitants. Addressing environmental factors and encouraging good hygiene, the system of the public health insurance for the whole nation, and the appropriate antimicrobial treatment by the chest physicians might reduce the number of persons who suffer from pneumonia. Although the number of medical treatment recipients in outpatients is stable, the number of pneumonia inpatients is increasing. The chest physicians will continue to play important roles in the future.