Statement by Mr. Shinji Asonuma
Vice Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan
At the 65th World Health Assembly
(Theme: Universal Health Coverage)

Geneva

22 May 2012

 Madam President, Madam Director-General, Distinguished Representatives, Ladies and Gentlemen,
 It is a great honor for me to present Japan's views regarding the achievements and challenges in global health on behalf of the Government of Japan.

 First of all, I would like to congratulate Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan for her leadership in the field of global health. Dr. Chan has already produced steady results, including on pandemic influenza preparedness and response, and with the initiative in the field of non-communicable diseases.
 In addition, the WHO reform has been highlighted as a priority to realize a more efficient and effective WHO to address complex health challenges. The Japanese government has high expectations for Dr Chan's leadership on this issue, and on the success of such reform.

 This year, the theme of World Health Day is "Aging and Health: Good Health Adds Life to Years". Given the world's rapidly ageing population, we need to respond to the emerging challenges such as non-communicable diseases and dementia as a united society including the elderly themselves and their families.
 As is well-known, Japan is setting the pace among the ageing societies of the world. We have been taking initiatives such as introducing long-term care insurance and building comprehensive health promotion programs with multiple-stakeholders. Through such initiatives, we would like to maintain the highest health index, including the longest average life expectancy in the world, which we successfully achieved.
 One of the significant contributors to such success is attributable to our Universal Health Coverage, which was established about 50 years ago. Among its specific features are that, first of all, all people in Japan are eligible for high-quality medical services, regardless of their occupation or income. Secondly, patients are able to choose medical institutions freely. We have also been successful at controlling the total medical expenditures.
 We are proud of our efforts to provide medical service to all, and we would like to share our experiences with the global community. Currently, Japan and the World Bank have been working on joint research on health care financing and medical personnel training in order to utilize the experience of Japan to develop health services that cover all parts of developing countries. We are hoping to achieve concrete results and to report on them in the near future.

 Madam President,

 We have only 4 years left to achieve MDGs. We believe that Universal Health Coverage is important in order to achieve such goals. As we have been suggesting, health system strengthening is indispensable in order to provide quality medical service for all people.
 In addition, universal access to simple and effective health interventions, such as vaccines, is important as well. Currently, our polio eradication efforts are at a crucial last stage. Unfortunately, we have reports that the efforts in 3 polio-endemic countries are experiencing setbacks. The Japanese government will strongly support the resolutions of the Executive Board regarding polio eradication and its finalizing activities.

 Madam President,

 Japan is currently in the process of reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011. We have a long way to go to fully recover from the disaster. But we are united and working together. I must thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all of the encouragement and support we have received from all nations, international organizations and from people around the world.
 Fukushima, the most affected area, was also the home prefecture of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, who devoted his life to the study of yellow fever and other diseases. We sponsor the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize to honor people who have made remarkable achievements in medical research and activities related to Africa, so as to commemorate the passion of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi. The prize was offered for the first time in 2008. The second award ceremony will be held during TICAD V, the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, to be held in Yokohama in June 2013. Our nation will continue to contribute to the improvement of health in Africa through initiatives in health sector activities and through TICAD.

 Madam President,

 I feel that the value and expectations of "health" in our rapidly changing society are increasing. Accordingly, the role of the WHO and people's expectations with regard to the WHO are also increasing. Japan will continue to bolster its efforts to support the WHO in order for the WHO to contribute to the people of the world and their public health.

Thank you for your attention.

(END)