For more than a decade, JCIE has been a leader in policy research and dialogue in the health sector through its Global Health and Human Security Program. As an extension of this, we began looking at the critical impact of aging on Japanese and other societies.

In 2017, we launched a new program on Healthy and Active Aging in Asia, to be carried out in cooperation with the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and in close consultation with the government of Japan’s Asia Health and Wellbeing Initiative (AHWIN). The program promotes bilateral and regional cooperation on aging in Asia by disseminating information on trends, policies, and best practices; deepening international networks among aging experts; and educating leaders on effective responses to the shared challenges and opportunities that aging populations present.

As that program evolved, JCIE began to identify some of the critical issues facing US and Japanese policymakers at the national and regional levels, as well as innovative work being done by local governments and agencies, the business sector, research institutes, and civil society organizations. Our work convinced us that the United States and Japan have much to learn from one another, and that our cooperation on this important issue could produce substantial benefits to the health, prosperity, and stability of both our countries and the region. Accordingly, in 2022, we launched the US-Japan Healthy & Resilient Aging Program.