OBJECTIVES: The Japan Economic Evaluation Database (JEED) project aims for critical appraisal of health economic evaluation studies in Japan and build a database with structured abstracts in collaboration with NHS-EED. With careful preparation in 2001, we performed handsearching of all the scientific articles and reports in the health economic fields in Japan in 2002. We analyzed current status of economic evaluation studies and methodological issues. METHODS: Since January 2002, we started to hand-search all articles and reports published in Japanese journals. Key words for handsearching were types of economic evaluations such as cost-effectiveness analysis or cost-utility analysis and methodological terms such as utility score, willingness to pay, QOL measurement and costing. We also adopted words for study areas such as health economic evaluations and pharmacoeconomics. We classified the articles into some categories and picked up methodological issues in Japan. RESULTS: Up to the end of September 2002, we identified 223 articles and reports related to health economic evaluations that appeared in a total of 4881 journals. Most of the articles were general remarks or proceedings. Thirty-four articles out of 233 were classified as original articles, only 6 of which could be identified as full economic evaluations. Nineteen articles were on costing and 4 were on measuring effectiveness or utility. We picked up some issues in economic evaluation studies in Japan. Most of the studies used reimbursement fee though there were some studies for actual costing. Because QOL data for health status were limited in Japanese population, many studies adopted data from foreign countries. There were some articles which did not use terms for economic evaluation studies correctly. CONCLUSIONS: To promote good economic evaluation studies in Japan, systematic critical appraisals and dissemination of information of good studies are needed. We may have to consider methodological guidelines or recommendations for good economic evaluation studies.