A working group comprised of executive committee fellows from JCIE’s Executive Committee on Global Health & Human Security and JCIE staff has submitted its recommendations for Japan’s 3rd Healthcare Policy, which is currently being formulated by the Japanese government as a five-year strategy for the period (JFY2025–JFY2029). The recommendations were presented to Minoru Kiuchi, Minister of State for Economic Security, by the Executive Committee’s former Chair, Yasuhisa Shiozaki, and current Chair, Keizo Takemi, on November 26, 2024. These recommendations call for a global health perspective to be reflected in the new Healthcare Policy in the next fiscal year.
The document recommends perspectives and measures that should be included in the policy to enable the public and private sectors to work together and leverage Japan’s strengths to boost the international expansion and competitiveness of Japan’s health, medical, and caregiving industries from a global perspective. At the same time, it offers recommendations on how to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) that “leaves no one behind” and make concrete contributions to solving global health challenges, placing priority on the needs of the people.
The main points from the recommendations and corresponding action plans are listed below.
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION PLANS
Recommendation 1: Effective resource allocation and strategy optimization
• Action Plan 1: Establish concrete KPIs and build a system to manage progress
• Action Plan 2: Strategically select target countries and optimize support activities
• Action Plan 3: Innovate and strengthen the resilience of community healthcare
Recommendation 2: Strategic Integration of Outbound and Inbound Healthcare
• Action Plan 1: Bolster outbound healthcare through needs-based approaches
• Action Plan 2: Establish a system of public-private cooperation for international regulatory harmonization
• Action Plan 3: Promote inbound healthcare
• Action Plan 4: Improve healthcare access for foreign residents in Japan and promote multicultural coexistence
Recommendation 3: Enhancement of the comprehensive strategy for deploying Japan’s medical technology in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs)
• Action Plan 1: Strengthen support for the development of products and services for the global market
• Action Plan 2: Establish a system to support the generation of evidence that meets international standards
• Action Plan 3: Build a strategic partnership with international organizations and stakeholders in partner countries
Recommendation 4: Establishment of a system for drug discovery and medical technology development that combines emergency response capability and international competitiveness
• Action 1: Establish a system for drug pricing that promotes innovation
• Action Plan 2: Establish a world-class system for clinical trial implementation and expand the global clinical trial network
• Action Plan 3: Expand the application of the regulatory sandbox system to healthcare and medical fields
Recommendation 5: Strengthening of the control tower function and implementation system of the Healthcare Policy
• Action 1: Formulate an integrated strategy based on a global health perspective
• Action 2: Promote an integrated strategy through the establishment of a strong control tower function
• Action Plan 3: Develop human resource strategies to realize the 3rd Healthcare Policy and set KPIs to assess progress
• Action Plan 4: Develop a new corporate evaluation system emphasizing social impact, including sustainability
