Nearly 3 in 10 Veterinarians at Japan's Larger Companion-Animal Hospitals Say Their Current Pace Is Unsustainable, Zpeer Survey Finds
A survey of 314 companion-animal veterinarians on Vetpeer, Japan's largest veterinary community, also reveals where vets want to grow — preventive care — and the one service many want to shrink.
At Japan's larger companion-animal hospitals,
2 in 3 veterinarians
are running flat out —
and 3 in 10 say:
“I can’t keep up this pace.”
Clinics with 4+ veterinarians (n=66): 29% call the pace unsustainable; a further 35% are busy but continuing.
Source: Zpeer survey of 314 veterinarians in companion-animal practice, April 2026
TOKYO, August 5, 2026 — Zpeer Inc., operator of Vetpeer — Japan's largest online community for veterinary professionals, reaching approximately 80% of the country's small-animal veterinarians — today released the results of a survey of 314 companion-animal veterinarians on their workload and the service categories they want to grow or shrink. While 36% of all respondents describe themselves as busy, the strain is concentrated in larger practices: at hospitals with four or more veterinarians, nearly 3 in 10 vets say they cannot sustain their current pace.
Why Clinic Size Matters in Japan
Japan's companion-animal care runs on small clinics. Of the country's 13,046 companion-animal veterinary facilities, 62% are staffed by a single veterinarian, and only about 12% employ four or more (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, as of December 2025).
Japan's 13,046 companion-animal veterinary facilities by number of employed veterinarians (share of facilities). Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Notification Status of Veterinary Care Facilities, as of December 31, 2025. Percentages are rounded.
That structure is the key to reading the findings below. In North America and Europe, consolidation has shifted caseloads toward large group practices; Japan is only beginning that shift, and its multi-veterinarian hospitals are still a small — but growing — segment absorbing the cases smaller clinics cannot take. As the next section shows, this is precisely where the workload pressure concentrates.
Key Findings
1. Workload pressure rises with clinic size
Among solo practitioners — who make up nearly half of the respondents — only 6% describe their pace as unsustainable. At hospitals with four or more veterinarians, that share climbs to 27% among associate veterinarians and 40% among owners/directors (small sample, n=10).
*Small sample; reference only.
Source: Zpeer survey of 314 veterinarians in companion-animal practice, April 2026
2. What veterinarians want more of: preventive care
Asked which single category beyond disease treatment they would most like to grow, vets chose wellness exams (35%), endectocide prescriptions (20%) and combination vaccinations (18%). In free answers, they describe these exams as a gateway to early detection and owner communication. Notably, the busiest vets lean instead toward complete & therapeutic diet prescriptions (14–16%, vs. 6% among vets with capacity) — a category staff can help deliver and that brings owners back regularly.
Q: “Beyond treating disease, which single category would you most like to grow?” (n=270 who named at least one)
Source: Zpeer survey of 314 veterinarians in companion-animal practice, April 2026
3. What they want less of: in-clinic pet boarding
Among veterinarians whose clinics offer pet boarding, 33% want to scale it back — by far the highest of any category. The most common reason: it is not medical work, yet it consumes significant staff time and effort.
Q: “Is there a category you would like to see less of?” (share of veterinarians whose clinic offers each category)
Source: Zpeer survey of 314 veterinarians in companion-animal practice, April 2026
What This Means for the Market
Veterinary workforce strain is well documented in North America and Europe. This survey shows Japan faces the same pressure with a distinctive structure: nearly half of the surveyed veterinarians practice solo, while the strain concentrates in the country's growing segment of larger, multi-veterinarian hospitals. For animal health companies, the findings carry a practical message — Japanese veterinarians want to grow precisely the categories where manufacturers operate (parasite prevention, vaccination, health screening, nutrition), but at the busiest clinics, products and programs that economize staff time will fit the reality of daily practice.
Japanese veterinarians are telling us exactly where they want to grow: preventive care. For manufacturers and service providers, that is an invitation. But the busiest hospitals have no staff time to spare — offerings that respect that constraint will be the ones that succeed.
Toshiya Morino, CEO, Zpeer Inc.
About the Survey
- Method: Online survey on the Vetpeer platform
- Respondents: 314 veterinarians in companion-animal practice in Japan
- Survey period: April 2026
- Conducted by: Zpeer Inc.
About Vetpeer
Vetpeer (https://vetpeer.info/) is Japan's largest online community for veterinary professionals, operated by Zpeer Inc. Approximately 80% of Japan's small-animal veterinarians — more than 12,800 practitioners — are registered on the platform, along with over 8,000 animal hospitals nationwide. Since 2025, Vetpeer has also been open to certified veterinary nurses.
About Zpeer Inc.
Zpeer Inc. (https://zpeer.info/en/), founded in 2013 and headquartered in Tokyo, is dedicated to advancing veterinary medicine in Japan. The company operates Vetpeer (online community for veterinary professionals), VetScope (webinar platform), ZpeerSTORE (e-commerce for animal hospitals), and Vet's Eye (pet product review portal), and provides market research, marketing, and sales support services for animal health companies. Zpeer offers international companies direct access to insights from Japanese veterinary professionals — including Japan's newly licensed veterinary nurses — through custom surveys and market studies.
Additional Data & Custom Research
Additional breakdowns from this survey — by clinic size, role, age band and appointment system, as well as average daily procedure volumes by category — are available on request. Zpeer conducts custom surveys and market studies for animal health and pet care companies through its panels of Japanese veterinarians and certified veterinary nurses: from prescribing and recommendation behavior and brand perception to disease prevalence and market-entry feasibility.
Discuss a Custom Study of the Japanese Marketsupport@zpeer.info
Public Relations, Zpeer Inc.
Email: support@zpeer.info
Custom research inquiries: support@zpeer.info