Dr. Akagi (1999)

The story of the relationship between a country doctor and a woman who works in his hepatitis clinic, set in a seaside town at the end of World War II. As hepatitis ravages Japan, the courageous doctor is nonetheless at the fringes of a very militaristic society. He, his friends, and the prostitute who has fallen for him, seek to produce a microscope powerful enough to study and so combat the virus.