In Mahayana Buddhism, Yakushi Nyorai is believed to be the Buddha who is efficacious for divine favors in the actual world, such as healing and medicine, and in Japan there are a great many temples with the deity as their principal image and Buddha halls that enshrine his image as he is widely worshipped in Buddhist countries throughout Asia, particularly Japan.
薬師如来は大乗仏教において病気平癒等の現世利益に効験のある仏として信仰されており、アジアの仏教圏の中でも特に日本で広く信仰を集めている仏であることから、日本では薬師如来を本尊とする寺院や薬師如来を祀る仏堂が各地に数多く存在する。