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On December 13, 2017, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the first award ceremony for the Japan Medical Research and Development Grand Prize, held at the Prime Minister's Office.
 
The Prime Minister said in his address,
 
“Today the first award ceremony for the Japan Medical Research and Development Grand Prize is being held. Congratulations to all of the recipients in the various fields. Japan’s average life expectancy and healthy life expectancy is among the top in the world. Nevertheless, research is still being conducted on how to overcome various illnesses and infectious diseases.
 
The outcomes of such research save the lives of many people. However, the fight against illness and infectious diseases continues throughout the world. Japan also intends to make major contributions to this fight. In that sense, steady research efforts are needed. I believe that the creation of such awards is important for informing the world that Japan has continued to steadily carry out such research and bear many fruits. Furthermore, in creating these awards, I wanted them to serve as a goal for researchers, and also as encouragement for not only the recipients of the awards today, but also for the young researchers who want to follow in their footsteps.
 
I hope that the conferring of these awards will propel further research and development. Advances in research and development save many lives and help many people maintain their way of life. I would like to conclude my remarks by expressing my hope that healthier and longer lives will be achieved in both Japan and the world. My sincere congratulations once again to the recipients.”