Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) held the Fourth Advisory Board Meeting of the Planetary Health Project for FY2024 on January 30, 2024.

HGPI launched its Planetary Health Project in FY2022 with the aim of advancing discussions on planetary health and contributing to better health for both people and the planet. Together with the advisory board, we plan to advance various initiatives based on discussions with its members.

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. GivenJapan’s unique challenges such as frequent natural disasters and an aging, declining population, it is essential to define and broaden the understanding of these challenges through a multi-stakeholder approach. This will help deepen future discussions and contribute to resolving these issues.

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

• [Policy Recommendations] Integrating Climate and Health for a Sustainable Society: Incorporating a Planetary Health Perspective into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)(December 9, 2024)
• [Policy Recommendations] Achieving a Sustainable Society of Health and Longevity Through the Integration of Environment and Healthcare-Incorporating a Planetary Health Perspective into the 3rd Phase of The Healthcare Policy-(December 20, 2024) .
• [Event Report] The 129th HGPI Seminar “The Connection Between Planetary Environment and Human Health as Seen Through the JECS and Future Expectations” (December 23, 2024)
• [Event Report] Planetary Health Expert Meeting “Building the Future of Healthcare: A Vision for Sustainable and Resilient Health Systems with GGHH” (November 5, 2024)
• [Public Comment Submission] “Plan for Global Warming Countermeasures (Draft)” (January 26, 2025)
• [Public Comment Submission] “Seventh Strategic Energy Plan (Draft)” (January 26, 2025)

At the 4th meeting of FY2024, we welcomed Mr. Masashi Nozawa (Section Manager of Corporate Finance Department, Division 6, Development Bank of Japan), who shared insights on environmental rating-based financing initiatives that support hospitals focusing on the advancement of medical functions, environmental considerations, disaster prevention, and business continuity measures. We then engaged in a cross-sectoral discussion. Additionally, the secretariat provided an update on the initiatives implemented between the third and fourth meetings, followed by a discussion on the future direction of activities.

 

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

 

■ The Fourth Advisory Board Meeting

17:00-17:05	Explanatory introduction
17:05-17:15	Sharing of activity Expert Meetings and Cross-Sectoral Dialogue Exchange Events
17:15-17:30	Presentation on Activities Masafumi Nozawa (General Manager, Corporate Finance Department, Division 6, Development Bank of Japan)
17:30-17:50	Discussion
17:50-18:55	Discussion on activities for the next year
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)
Mitsuya Maeda (Director General, Environmental Health Department, Ministry of the Environment Japan)
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)
Yasuhiko Suzuki (Distinguished Professor, Hokkaido University, Chair and Professor; Division of Bioresources, International Institute for Zoonosis Control; Chair and Professor, Department of Research Support, Institute for Vaccine Research and Development, Professor Department of Advanced Pharmaceutics, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine)
Keiko Nakamura (Professor, Department of Global Health Entrepreneurship, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences (Medicine), Science Tokyo)
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; Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Environmental Science (UG); Department of Earth and Planetary Physics (UG); Department of Earth and Planetary Science (GR); Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo)
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 (Research Collaborator, Kyoto Climate Change Adaptation Center )
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)