Twenty years have now passed since Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) was established in 2004, and it feels like that time went by in the blink of an eye. We are here today because of the warm support we received over the course of those years from everyone reading this. It is only because of that support that we have made it this far. Thank you so much.
 
Under our mission of “achieving citizen-centered health policy”, we have presented multi-faceted policy options created by working hand-in-hand with a diverse range of stakeholders that include think tanks, NGOs, and other global partners in Japan and overseas. Our partners have also walked alongside us in efforts to see those policy options incorporated into real policy. I feel that our activities have helped foster a civil society with healthy debate. Focusing on the various changes in society, such as demographic shifts or the diversification of household structures and employment systems, we can see that the importance of health policies tailored to these changes is growing by the day.
 
Within that context, I would like for us to consider and deepen discussions on how to encourage healthy debate in the next twenty years and how to overcome emerging issues facing civil society—the  public—as well as the world. Each of us, including everyone reading this, must take the concrete actions that we should, in the places where we can contribute to the world.
 
The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Accident was an enormous challenge for Japan and its impact was felt around the globe. In a world connected by digital technology, problems that are entirely unique to Japan or that can be addressed by Japan on its own do not exist. The same can be said for health policy, as well as other areas of policy. HGPI would like to catalyze discussions with stakeholders and our global partners on the ideal structure of civil society (e.g., the public) and the necessary social infrastructure for the coming twenty years through the topic of health policy, and aim to nurture the creation of such an infrastructure.
 
HGPI is also cultivating young and dependable global leaders. Our organization has expanded and stabilized over the past few years, allowing us to formulate a variety of policy recommendations with you. It is a wonderful thing. In a global ranking of think tanks, HGPI continues to receive high recognition. One of the reasons for that is that we operate from a non-profit position that is independent of the government. Help from all of our supporters has been essential in this. Please allow me to once again express my gratitude for your past support.
 
To mark the occasion of our twentieth anniversary, I would like us to look back on the past as well as peer ahead to the future. Together with everyone, HGPI will continue to engage in global activities that aim to make a civil society active with healthy debate. I sincerely request your continued support and cooperation. 

Honorary Chairman for Life Kiyoshi Kurokawa