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On June 20, 2019, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 24th meeting of the Headquarters for Healthcare Policy at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
At the meeting, discussions were held on the implementation status of the healthcare and medical strategy, and the future initiatives policy for 2019; the implementation status of the plan for the advancement of research and development in the medical field, and the future initiatives policy for 2019; the first allocation in FY2019 of Coordination Funds for Medical Research and Development, the policy for the allocation of budget and other resources related to research and development in the medical field in FY2020; the Grand Design for Asian Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Regulatory Harmonization; the Basic Principles of the Africa Health and Wellbeing Initiative; as well as the case studies on the Healthcare Policy.
 
Based on the discussions, the Prime Minister said,
 
“In order to materialize a society in which people enjoy long and healthy lives, the Abe Cabinet formulated the Healthcare Policy, centered on research and development, and the creation of new industries and their overseas expansion, in the medical sector, and has been exerting every effort to implement these initiatives over the past five years.
 
Through these initiatives, groundbreaking research results have been delivered one after another. Today, Dr. Tanaka showed us a case in which a non-conventional idea has led to a groundbreaking technology that enables the early diagnosis of dementia, and President Takagi also showed a case in which the application of a sophisticated manufacturing technology in the medical field has led to the creation of a new product that has never been seen before. Both cases are remarkable achievements that generate world-first innovation through industry-academia-government cooperation.
 
Furthermore, to promote the overseas expansion of Japan’s superb healthcare services, today we approved the Africa Health and Wellbeing Initiative, following that of Asia. We will firmly promote this initiative at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), which will be held in Yokohama in August this year.
 
Turning our eyes to the 100-year life society, materializing a society in which people enjoy long and healthy lives is a matter of growing importance. I ask the relevant ministers to proceed with the review with Minister Hirai towards a new Healthcare Policy, which looks ahead to the next five years.”