Mobilizing Japanese Leaders—Diet Task Force

A multi-party task force of Diet members has been created to examine ways to broaden Japan's international role in combating the global threats of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other communicable diseases. The FGFJ Diet Task Force convenes several times a year with leaders from around the world, and recent meetings have included Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund; George Soros, founder of the Open Society Institute (OSI); Christoph Benn, director of external relations for the Global Fund; Surin Pitsuwan, member of the National Assembly of Thailand and former foreign minister; Richard Feachem, former Global Fund executive director; and Tommy S. Thompson, chair emeritus of the Global Fund and former US secretary of health and human services.

• List of Diet Task Force members

Diet Task Force Visit to Cambodia and Vietnam

On July 22 to 25, 2008, six members of the FGFJ Diet Task Force visited Cambodia and Vietnam to speak with community leaders, aid workers and national policymakers working on AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis and to visit treatment sites and communities dealing with these diseases. The bipartisan group was headed by FGFJ Diet Task Force Director Ichiro Aisawa and included Jun Matsumoto, Gaku Hashimoto, Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, and Mitsunori Okamoto from the House of Representatives, as well as Masaaki Taniai from the House of Councilors. The trip was organized in cooperation with the Global Fund and made possible by support from the M·A·C AIDS Fund.

Diet Task Force Visit to South Africa

From June 29 to July 4, 2006, FGFJ Diet Task Force Director Ichiro Aisawa (Member, House of Representatives, Liberal Democratic Party) and Hiroyuki Nagahama (Member, House of Representatives, Democratic Party of Japan) traveled to South Africa to visit communities ravaged by the AIDS epidemic. In addition to meeting with families affected by the disease, community leaders, and service providers who are being assisted by the Global Fund, they also visited businesses to learn about their workforce and philanthropic programs. Their visit was made possible with support from the M·A·C AIDS Fund.

Involving Foreign Leaders

JCIE Global Health Working Group Meets with Global Fund Executives

On November 15, 2007, the chair of the JCIE global health working group, Keizo Takemi (former senior vice minister of health, labor, and welfare), met with executives of the Global Fund, including Dr. Christoph Benn, director of external relations, and Dr. Daniel Low-Beer, director, performance evaluation and policy. The discussion focused on the role that the Global Fund plays, through its funding for communicable diseases, in contributing to health systems strengthening (HSS) in countries around the world. Among other issues, the Global Fund team described how approximately 30 percent of its funding goes directly to efforts of overall HSS, which in turn plays an important role in combating the specific communicable diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Japan visit program for Friends of the Global Fund Africa Founder Dr. Ikemba

Dr. Akudo Anyanwu Ikemba, founder and CEO of Friends of the Global Fund Africa visited Japan on November 5–10, 2007, to strengthen the ties between the FGFJ and Friends of the Global Fund Africa in the fight against communicable diseases. Kicking off her intensive week-long stay, Dr. Ikemba met with FGFJ board members, including former Prime Minister and FGFJ Chair Yoshiro Mori. During the week she met with business leaders including executives at Sumitomo Chemical, a global leader in the production of anti-malaria bed nets, and also with representatives of the Japanese Business Federation (Keidanren). Dr. Ikemba spoke with the FGFJ Diet Task Force and visited individually with leading government officials. She also took part in a luncheon with key African embassy representatives hosted by Ambassador Koji Tsuruoka, director-general for global issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This was Dr. Ikemba's first visit to Japan.

Roundtable on Global Health

The FGFJ convened a roundtable in Tokyo on August 6, 2007, with Tachi Yamada, president of the Bill & Melinda Gate’s Foundation’s Global Health Program, titled Addressing Challenges in Global Health: How the Public and Private Sectors Can Work Together. In addition to Masaharu Kohno, deputy minister for foreign affairs, and other FGFJ board members, approximately 50 representatives from civil society, businesses, academia, the government, and the media attended the event.

From Heiligendamm to Toyako—The Global Fund on the G8 Agenda

As a lead up to two major summits being held in Japan in 2008—the Group of Eight (G8) Summit in Toyako, Hokkaido, and the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), the FGFJ held a public seminar in Tokyo on July 26, 2007, on the topic From Heiligendamm to Toyako—The Global Fund on the G8 Agenda. Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund, and Dr. Christoph Benn, the Global Fund’s director of external relations, offered the audience an overview of the Global Fund’s work and its results so far and appealed to Japan to make sure that the momentum that started in Okinawa eight years ago is not lost over the coming years.

World AIDS Day: U2’s Bono Speaks with Japanese Leaders on AIDS and Africa

The FGFJ, in cooperation with DATA (Debt AIDS Trade Africa) and Hottokenai, Sekai no Mazushisa, arranged a number of meetings and events for musician and activist Bono in Tokyo between November 28 and December 1, 2006. Discussing AIDS and poverty in Africa, Bono met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; Sadako Ogata; president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and other key leaders. A roundtable was convened with 19 top politicians, business executives, journalists, and civil society leaders, and a “Red and White reception” was jointly organized to commemorate World AIDS Day for more than 200 Japanese leaders in the fields of the arts, business, entertainment, and politics.

Roundtable with Bill Gates

On April 21, 2006, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, joined a small group of FGJF board members representing various sectors of Japanese society for a special briefing session on Japan's response to the spread of the major communicable diseases. Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who chairs the FGFJ, welcomed Mr. Gates, and Hon. Ichiro Aisawa (director of the FGFJ Diet Task Force) Deputy Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka, and the other members outlined approaches being taken by the Japanese government, businesses, and civil society organizations. The discussion centered around ways to further increase Japan's support for the Global Fund and raise public awareness about AIDS and other diseases

FGFJ Board

The board of the FGFJ, which is chaired by former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and consists of leaders from diverse sectors of Japanese society, meets regularly to explore ways to promote cross-sectoral cooperation in the fight against AIDS and other communicable diseases.

 

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