Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) hosted a multi-stakeholder policy dialogue, “Japan-Canada Dementia Policy Dialogue,” on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. The event coincided with the Japan visit of Dr. Howard Bergman, a distinguished member of the World Dementia Council (WDC) and a leading figure in developing and implementing Canada’s national dementia strategy and regional planning initiatives.
The dialogue served as a pivotal platform for exchanging expertise between Japan and Canada regarding pressing issues in dementia care. Key topics included national and municipal-level dementia policies and the optimization of regional healthcare and long-term care systems. This collaborative exchange fostered meaningful discussions that aim to advance dementia policy on the international stage. Detailed information follows below.

[Event Overview]

• Date & Time: Tuesday, October 15, 2024; 10:00-15:00 JST
• Venue: Global Business Hub Tokyo (1-9-2 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
• Participants: By invitation only; limited to those listed in the section below (Open registration, online streaming, and archival recordings will be not be available)
• Language: Japanese and English (with simultaneous interpretation)
• Host: Health and Global Policy Institute

[Program] (titles omitted)

10:00-10:10	Opening remarks and explanatory introduction
	Shunichiro Kurita (Senior Manager, HGPI)
10:10-10:40	Keynote lecture: Dementia Policy in Canada From the 2009 Quebec Alzheimer Plan to the 2025 the Quebec Alzheimer Ministerial Policy
	Howard Bergman (MD / FCFP / FRCPC / FCAHS / C.Q.)
10:40-11:00	Short lecture 1: Introducing Dementia Research in Japan
	Shuichi Awata (Director, Integrated Research Initiative for Living Well with Dementia, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatric and Gerontology / Director, Yokufukai Tokyo Research and Training Center for Dementia Care)
11:00-11:20	Short lecture 2: Private Sector Initiatives for Establishing a Dementia Ecosystem
	Keisuke Naito (COO, CGO (Chief Growth Officer), Eisai Co., Ltd.)
11:30-12:30	Roundtable discussion 1: Establishing and Advancing Measures for Dementia
	After representatives of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government briefly introduce measures for dementia, we will have affected parties, representatives of academia, and healthcare professionals’ comment on how those measures are formulated and promoted, then gather knowledge from Canada by comparing measures, examining similarities, and hearing about lessons learned in Canada.
12:30-13:20	Lunch Break
13:20-14:20	Roundtable discussion 2: Examining Healthcare and Long-term Care Provision Systems for Dementia
	After brief introductions of and comments on Japan’s healthcare and long-term care provision systems from representatives of academia and healthcare providers, we will have affected parties share comments on how they perceive issues in those systems, then gather knowledge from Canada by comparing systems, examining their similarities, and hearing about lessons learned in Canada.
14:20-14:30	Closing remarks
	Ryoji Noritake (Chair, HGPI)

[Speakers] (titles omitted; in no particular order)

Kyoko Ohno (President, Tokyo Branch, Alzheimer’s Association Japan)
Mitsuhide Sano (Vice President, the Hoshi no Kai Family Association for People With Early-Onset Dementia)
Keisuke Naito (COO, CGO (Chief Growth Officer), Eisai Co., Ltd.)
Kiyoyuki Tomita (Global AD Value & Access/ Patient Advocacy lead, Eisai Co., Ltd.)
Howard Bergman (MD / FCFP / FRCPC / FCAHS / C.Q.)
Shuichi Awata (Director, Integrated Research Initiative for Living Well with Dementia, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatric and Gerontology / Director, Yokufukai Tokyo Research and Training Center for Dementia Care)
Junko Kitanaka (Professor, Department of Humanities and Sociology (Human Sciences), Faculty of Letters, Keio University)
Yoshimasa Takase (President, Takase Clinic)
Kenji Toba (CEO, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology (TMIG) / Executive Adviser to the President, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology)
Shinya Matsuda (Professor, School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Occupational and Environmental Health)
Kohei Ozawa (Director, Dementia Policy Promotion Division, Department of Elderly Policy Promotion, Bureau of Social Welfare, Tokyo Metropolitan Government)
Yoshimasa Tosaka (Director for Dementia Strategy, Division of Dementia Policy and Community-Based Long-Term Care Promotion, Health and Welfare Bureau for the Elderly, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
Satoshi Ono (Director for Policy Planning, Healthcare Industries Division Commerce and Service Industry Policy Group, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI))
Mayumi Honda (Editorial Board Member, Medical Department, Tokyo Headquarters, The Yomiuri Shimbun)
Yuko Matsuura (Editor-in-Chief, the Nakamaaru Site for Dementia, The Asahi Shimbun Company

(Photographed by: Kazunori Izawa and Kenji Yamamoto)