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Global Health and Human Security

Symposium Overview

World-renowned medical journal the Lancet has released a special series on Japan in September 2011 that commemorates the 50th anniversary of Japan's attainment of universal healthcare coverage. The first such special series by the Lancet focusing on a single industrialized country, the series explores many facets of Japan's health system, including its remarkable achievements in life expectancy and health status in a brief period of time, the advantages and limitations of universal healthcare coverage, its ability to maintain high quality of healthcare at low cost, achievements and challenges in the face of the world's most rapidly aging society, and Japan's commitment to global health and health diplomacy. The authors for this series analyze these themes while highlighting challenges for sustaining Japan's system of universal coverage and providing recommendations for health experts inside and outside of Japan.

The Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) and the Lancet organized an international public symposium in Tokyo on September 1, 2011, as part of the series launch. Japan managed to rebuild its health system rapidly following the devastation of World War II and achieved universal coverage of health insurance in 1961. Today, it enjoys the world's highest life expectancy and some of the best health indicators. At the same time, Japan faces serious challenges in maintaining its high level of health services in the face of a rapidly aging society and sluggish economic conditions. The March 11 earthquake and tsunami brought to light many vulnerabilities in the healthcare system, not only in the Tohoku region but throughout the country, including limited access to healthcare service in rural areas, lack of primary care physicians, inappropriate medical governance, and challenges facing elderly communities, to name only a few.

The symposium shared findings from the Lancet Special Series on Japan and the challenges confronting Japan's health system in the wake of the disasters in Tohoku and the implications for the future direction of Japan's health system which should be based on the principles of equity and solidarity. In addition, the symposium also provided a forum for sharing Japan's experience in achieving and maintaining a healthy population in the face of an aging population and changing economic conditions with other countries that are trying to strengthen their own health systems. In other words, the series and symposium presented Japan with the opportunity to play an important role in creating a healthier world by sharing our successes and our challenges with experts from around the globe.

>>>Watch Archived Video of the Sessions (English | Japanese)

Date & time:	September 1, 2011, 9:30–17:30 (doors open at 9:00)
Venue:	U Thant International Conference Hall, United Nations University (5-53-70 Jingu Mae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)
	http://www.jcie.org/japan/j/pdf/data_form/lancetlaunch/access_to_UNU.pdf
Organizers:	Co-sponsored by the Japan Center for International Exchange and the Lancet
Supporters:	Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; Ministry of Finance; World Bank; and the Yomiuri Shimbun

Agenda

Opening Session

Moderator: Tadashi Yamamoto, President, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE)

Opening Remarks

• Richard Horton, Editor-in-chief, Lancet, UK

Overview

• Lincoln Chen, President, China Medical Board, USA
• Keizo Takemi, Senior Fellow, JCIE
  

Session 1: What Does the Disaster Teach Us about Japan's Health System?

Moderator: Keizo Takemi

Situation Report:

• Kenji Shibuya, Professor and Chair, Department of Global Health Policy, University of Tokyo

Commentators:

• Hidekazu Tanaka, Editor, Health and Medical News Department, Yomiuri Shimbun
  
• Michael Reich, Taro Takemi Professor of International Health Policy and Director, Takemi Program in International Health, Harvard School of Public Health, USA

Session 2: Current Challenges Facing Japan's Health System

Moderator: Michael Reich

Presentations

Medical Service Delivery

• Hideki Hashimoto, Professor, Department of Health Economics and Epidemiology Research, University of Tokyo

Medical and Long-term Care for the Older

• Nanako Tamiya, Professor, Department of Health Services Research, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba

Sustainability of Universal Coverage

• Naoki Ikegami, Professor and Chair, Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University

Commentators:

• Harvey V. Fineberg, President, Institute of Medicine, USA
• Suwit Wibulpolprasert, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
  

Session 3: Reforms for the Future―Maintaining Equity, Efficiency, and Sustainability

Moderator: Shunsuke Watanabe, Professor, Tokyo Women's Medical College; former Editorial Writer, Nikkei Shimbun

Presentation:

• Naoki Ikegami

Comments:

• Bong-min Yang, Professor of Economics and Executive Director, Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Korea
• Keiji Yamada, Governor of Kyoto Prefecture; President, National Governors' Association
• Shigeru Omi, Professor, Division of General Practice Center, Jichi Medical University

Session 4: Global Implications of Achieving Universal Healthcare Coverage Based on Human Security

Moderator: Richard Horton

Presentation:

• Kenji Shibuya

Commentators:

• Sudhir Anand, Professor of Economics, Oxford University, UK; Visiting Professor, Harvard Medical School, USA
• Joseph Kutzin, Coordinator, Health Financing Policy, World Health Organization (WHO)
• Armin Fidler, Lead Advisor for Health Policy and Strategy, Health, Nutrition and Population, Human Development Network, World Bank

Concluding Remarks

• Y. S. Chi, Chairman, Management Committee, Reed Elsevier plc
  
• William Summerskill, Executive Editor, Lancet, UK
• Keizo Takemi