The non-partisan Diet Study Group on Dementia headed by House of Representatives member Hayato Suzuki held its fourth session. HGPI is currently providing planning and operations support for this study group. The fourth meeting was attended by Professor Takeshi Iwatsubo, an authority on Alzheimer’s Disease, which accounts for over half of all dementia cases.

Background
The number of people living with dementia in Japan is expected to rise alongside the aging of the population. Policies to deal with this challenge are urgently needed. Japan has taken up the challenge of such polices by launching the “New Orange Plan” – a comprehensive strategy to address dementia. However, additional measures on dementia will be needed in the future. To that end, a number of House of Representatives members have formed this voluntary, regular, non-partisan study group to encourage as many House of Representatives members as possible to become interested in this issue and knowledgeable about it.

Session presentations
“Frontline Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia”
Dr. Takeshi Iwatsubo (Professor at the Department of Neuropathology at the Graduate School of Medicine in the University of Tokyo; Chief of early-stage detection section at the University of Tokyo Hospital; Director of Japan Society for Dementia Research – Chief executive of basic research section; Chief researcher at J-ADNI)