Understanding a learner's situation and their needs improves the quality of education they receive; however, the gap between the junior residents' needs regarding respiratory medicine training and the expectations that clinical instructors have for clinical trainees has not been identified. The subjects were junior residents training in respiratory medicine and respiratory physicians in Chiba prefecture. We conducted a questionnaire about respiratory medicine training needs and compared the results with the learning requirements that clinical instructors set for clinical trainees. The need of junior residents for general internal medicine knowledge was high. The range of trainees' needs was limited compared to the clinical instructors' understanding of what trainees should learn. There were some differences between junior residents' respiratory medicine training needs and the expectations of the trainees held by clinical instructors.