Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) held the Second Advisory Board Meeting of the Planetary Health Project for FY2024 on August 29, 2024.

HGPI formed an advisory board and launched its Planetary Health Project in FY2022 to advance the discussions on planetary health and to contribute to better health for the Earth and its people. Together with our newest advisory board members who joined in FY2024, we plan to advance various initiatives based on advisory board’s discussions.

Currently, there are many global issues related to planetary health, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution that require urgent action. In Japan, attention to planetary health is increasing, as seen in the incorporation of a planetary health perspectives in the “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Guiding Principles ” (revised on December 19, 2023) and the Sixth Basic Environment Plan (approved by the Cabinet on May 21, 2024). The “Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform 2024” (Honebuto Policy 2024) and the “Grand Design and Action Plan for a New Form of Capitalism – 2024 Revised Edition,” both approved by the Cabinet on June 21, 2024, explicitly mention the promotion of initiatives such as the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH), which aims to build resilient, low-carbon, and sustainable health systems in the face of climate change. Specific initiatives to address these issues are expected to be implemented moving forward. In Japan, which faces unique challenges such as frequent natural disasters and an aging and declining population, it is essential to define and broaden the understanding of these challenges through a multi-stakeholder approach to deepen future discussions and resolve issues.

At the second meeting of FY2024, one member shared an agenda item on its awareness of issues and ongoing efforts, and two members shared updates on their recent activities. HGPI provided an overview of the initiatives implemented between the first and second meetings, as well as the direction for future activities.

We are working on the following items proposed by the advisory board and others.

1. [Research Paper] HGPI Planetary Health Project’s Research on the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Japanese Physicians Relating to Climate Change and Health published in the Journal of Public Health (July 15, 2024) .
2. [Public Comment Submission] “The Fifth Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society (Draft)” (May 22, 2024).
3. Resources on Planetary Health .
4. [Policy Recommendations] Model Core Curriculum for Nursing Education Looking Towards the Future of Post-SDGs: The Necessity of a Planetary Health Perspective Including Climate Change and Health (May 30, 2024) .
5. [Event Report] Non-partisan Diet Member Briefing – 30-minute Health Policy Update: “Integrating Climate Change Measures and Health Promotion Measures: The Need to Formulate a National Strategy for Climate Change and Health” (May 16, 2024)
6. [Announcement] A Turning Point Towards Building Green Healthcare Systems (June 5, 2024) .

 

(The Second Planetary Health Project Advisory Board Meeting in FY2024)

 

■The Second Advisory Board Meeting

17:00-17:15 Explanatory introduction and short comments from each advisory board member

Shu Suzuki (Senior Associate, HGPI)

17:15-17:30 Sharing awareness of planetary health issues

Akihito Watabe (Health Specialist, Human and Social Development Office, Sectors Group, Asian Development Bank)

17:30-18:00 Sharing of activity status

18:00-18:55 Discussion

18:55-19:00 Future schedule and other notes

 

Advisory Board Members (titles omitted; in Japanese syllabary order)

(Industry)

Satoru Arima (Sustainability Planning & Management Group, Sustainability Department, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.)
Yosuke Nishiba (Public Affairs and Sustainability department, Market Access & External Affairs Division, Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd. )
Yutaka Mitsutake (Director, Japan Sustainability, AstraZeneca K.K.)

(Government)

Hajime Inoue (Assistant Minister for Global Health and Welfare, Minister’s Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
Masahiro Kaminota (Director-General, Environmental Health Department, Minister’s Secretariat, Ministry of the Environment)
Sho Nagata (Director, Heat Illness Policy Office, Policy Planning Division, Environmental Health Department, Ministry of the Environment)

(Academia)

Saori Kashima (Director of the Center for the Planetary Health and Innovation Science (PHIS), Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences Laboratory, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University)
Naoki Kondo (Professor and Chair, Department of Social Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine and School of Public Health, Kyoto University)
Keiko Nakamura (Professor, Department of Global Health Entrepreneurship, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences (Medicine), Tokyo Medical and Dental University)
Keisuke Nansai (Director, Material Cycles Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES))
Masahiro Hashizume (Professor, Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo)
Kenji Fuma (Specially Appointed Professor, Co-Creative Organization for Green Society, Shinshu University / CEO, Neural, Inc.)
Hiroya Yamano (Senior Principal Researcher, Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies)
Naoko Yamamoto (Professor, International University of Health and Welfare / Director, Global Medical Cooperation Center)
Chiho Watanabe (Professor and Executive Advisor to the President (Planetary Health), School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University)

(Civil Society)

Taiko Kudo (Visiting Professor, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature)
So Sugawara (Representative Director, Green innovation)
Yukari Nakano (Executive Officer, Japanese Nursing Association)
Makoto Haraguchi (Fellow, MS&AD InterRisk Research & Consulting, Inc. / TNFD dedicated SVP, MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc.)
Hidekazu Hosokawa (Executive Director, Japan Medical Association)
Yusuke Matsuo (Director, Business Task Force, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies)
Akihito Watabe (Health Specialist, Human and Social Development Office, Sectors Group, Asian Development Bank)
Green Practice Japan

[Special Advisor (Youth)]

Asian Medical Students’ Association Japan (AMSA Japan)
Japan Association for Global Health, Students Section (jagh-s)