Hattori & Dreams Partners Ltd. Co., run by Japanese ophthalmologist Tadashi Hattori and partners, has received a license from authorities of Hanoi to invest $3 million in setting up an ophthalmology hospital in the capital city of Vietnam. The hospital will open as early as August with five doctors and about 15 nurses. It is open for profit, but Mr. Hattori will personally provide free treatment to low-income patients. Mr. Hattori, chairman of Hattori & Dreams Partners, which has a registered capital of $1 million, said he wants to teach medical skills to Vietnamese doctors who have the spirit of philanthropy. Hattori started his volunteer work in Vietnam in 2002 and has seen more than 10,000 patients. Besides providing free treatment to underprivileged Vietnamese patients, he has helped train Vietnamese eye doctors and nurses, and called for the donation of medical equipment to hospitals in Vietnam. In recognition of his contributions, Hattori was presented with a certificate of merit from the Japanese Foreign Ministry and chosen as a “passion without borders Japanese” by the Cabinet Office in Tokyo in 2012. Vietnam’s Ministry of Health, awarded him with a people’s health insignia in 2007. (Thoi Bao Kinh Doanh – Business Times Jun 18 p5)
