A joint report of the WHO and World Organization of Family Doctors (WHO and Wonca, 2008) stresses the importance of pre-service and/or in-service training of primary care workers on mental health as an essential prerequisite for mental health integration, and reducing the treatment gap for mental health. The inclusion of mental health training for such primary care level practitioners is common in many OECD countries (OECD, 2014a), and with the development of this new specialty Japan has the valuable opportunity to effectively integrate mental health training for Generalists from the beginning. Specifically, provision for mild-to-moderate disorders at the primary care level can be strengthened, appropriate primary care-specific prescribing and treatment guidelines and appropriate specialist referral options have been shown to be effective treatment approaches for mild-to-moderate disorders.