On October 6, 2026, Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) held the First Advisory Board Meeting titled “Transforming Social Systems to Prioritize Brain Health and the Outlook for Future Policy.”

The brain is the foundation that enables people to learn, work, and live in society, supporting important functions spanning across cognitive, sensory, social-emotional, behavioral, and motor domains. As well as the extensive functions of the brain, it is the foundation that permits each individual to expand their potential and lead a fulfilling life. Supporting Brain Health throughout life course contributes to greater well-being for every individual. Moreover, irrespective of the presence or absence of disorders or disabilities, it is important to create environments in which people can make the most of their abilities according to their condition at any given time and live in a way that is true to themselves. Achieving this requires not only individual effort but also a holistic, person-centered approach across society, built on multisectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration across diverse sectors, including healthcare, welfare, education, labor, and local communities.

In the present-day society, artificial intelligence (AI) is developing rapidly and bringing major changes to our economic and social lives. Against this backdrop, the value of human abilities such as thinking and making decisions independently, building relationships with others, and exercising creativity is being reexamined. It is precisely in times like these that society should be reformed into a society in which every individual can live meaningfully and fulfil their full potential. To that end, it is an urgent priority to approach Brain Health as an issue for society as a whole and to promote it.

Looking ahead, HGPI aims to realize social systems in which every citizen takes an interest in their own Brain Health and is able to think and act on their own initiative. As part of these efforts, HGPI has established an Advisory Board composed of experts from diverse fields related to Brain Health, including healthcare, economics, industry, ethics, and policy.

At this first meeting, members engaged in an open and lively discussion on the foundational direction for advancing Brain Health policy in Japan.

Over the course of two meetings, the Advisory Board will reexamine the brain’s role as infrastructure that society as a whole should protect and nurture should be viewed. Building on this, it will bring together the policy issues identified for each life stage into a unified framework. The Advisory Board then aims to compile concrete proposals, organized by policy area, including health policy and a range of other fields, for the measures needed to support Brain Health across the life course.

[Overview]

• Date & Time: Tuesday, October 6, 2026; 17:00-19:00 JST
• Format: In-Person
• Venue: Room 4, International House of Japan, 5-11-16 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
• Language: Japanese
  *Please note that this meeting was held in Japanese only.

■ Advisory Board Members (Titles Omitted, in Japanese Syllabary Order)

Kan Asakura (Deputy General Manager, Wellbeing Business Department, Sompo Holdings, Inc.)
Takeshi Iwatsubo (Director General, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (NCNP))
Teruyuki Katori (Representative Director, Future Institute Wolong)
Mitsunobu Kano (Academic Fellow, HGPI)
Hironori Kuga (Director General and Professor, National Center for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Research, NCNP)
Kouhei Komamura (Professor, Faculty of Economics, Keio University)
Saki Sugano (Associate Professor, College of Economics, Aoyama Gakuin University)
Ayako Fujishiro (Government Relations Group, Healthcare Policy Department, Eisai Co., Ltd.)
Naoaki Fujitani (Director, Social Medical Corporation Sekiaikai Yotsuba Family Clinic)
Kaori Muto (Professor, Department of Public Policy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo)