Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI), an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan think tank, has long been committed to addressing challenges in health and social security. By harnessing the collective intelligence of diverse stakeholders, HGPI aims to present new options for society, fostering citizen-centered health policy.

Japan’s social security system is currently facing structural challenges, including rapid population aging and a shrinking working-age population. With the increasing demand for healthcare and long-term care services due to the growing number of advanced late, social security benefits are projected to reach 190 trillion yen by 2040. Coupled with labor shortages due to the declining workforce, this trend threatens to increase the burden on the working generation and jeopardize the sustainability of the system. On the other hand, proactive efforts are being made by government and private sector experts to address these issues. Technological innovation is accelerating in healthcare and long-term care, giving rise to new services and system innovations. Moreover, policies and initiatives aimed at realizing a symbiotic society are being implemented nationwide, offering hope for a brighter future. These efforts not only have the potential not only to position Japan’s healthcare and elderly care industries as growth sectors but also to revitalize regional communities.

In the past, the National Council on Social Security System Reform, established in 2012, deliberated on the sustainability and future direction of the social security system from a long-term perspective. These discussions laid the foundation for Japan’s social security policy by seeking the optimal balance between “self-help, mutual assistance, and public help” while pursuing system enhancement and efficiency. Building on that momentum, the Meetings on a Social Security System Oriented to All Generations is currently advancing these discussions further. Additionally, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare unveiled the “Future Health and Active Society Strategy” in 2024, presenting a concrete vision for achieving a sustainable social security system. This strategy identifies three primary goals: promoting the growth of the healthcare and long-term care industries, harnessing innovation for societal benefit, and creating a society where individuals can lead healthy and active lives.

Against this backdrop of change, HGPI will provide a forum for discussion throughout 2025 with the “HGPI Salon 2025” on the theme of “Looking Ahead to the Future of Japan’s Social Security System”. Under the Chatham House Rule, these Salons will function as a platform for participants to engage in an open and candid dialogue to generate insights and ideas for policy development. Discussions will focus on specific challenges such as enhancing efficiency of healthcare and long-term care through ICT utilization, strengthening preventive care, and promoting the active participation of women and the elderly. Together with our board members and participants, we aim to conduct constructive discussions.

The HGPI Salon provides a positive space to share challenges in healthcare and social security while collaboratively exploring solutions for the future. The event is supported by participation fees, which are exclusively allocated to venue and operational expenses. Individual supporting members can attend free of charge. We warmly invite you to join us in envisioning a brighter future for Japan’s social security system.

This session featured a discussion with the participants led by HGPI’s board member Dr. Kohei Onozaki and Manager Ms. Yukiko Kawata. Dr. Onozaki presented on the sustainability of Japan’s healthcare system from the perspective of medical costs, using cancer treatment as an example, with a particular focus on securing financial resources. Following this, there was an interactive discussion with the entire audience covering various topics, such as specific implementation aspects that consider the overall picture including changes in social structure and working environments, based on the various backgrounds of burden-sharing in the current social security system, as well as the process of advancing policy options and consensus-building methods in policy formation, using the assessment the high-cost medical expense benefit system as an example.

[Event Overview]

• Session 3 Speakers

Guest Speaker: Kohei Onozaki (Board Member, HGPI)
Moderator: Yukiko Kawata (Manager, HGPI)

• Date & Time: Tuesday, October 7, 2025; 18:30-20:00 (Reception opens at 18:15) JST
• Format: In-person Only
• Venue: Global Business Hub Tokyo
  (3F Otemachi Financial City Grand Cube, 1-9-2 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0004)
• Language: Japanese only
• Rules: Chatham House Rule
  (The Chatham House Rule refers to a meeting format in which discussions are held off-the-record and speakers remain unidentified. This rule aims to facilitate an honest and vigorous debate by ensuring anonymity.)
• Participation Fee:
  
  • • Individual Supporting Members: Free
    • General Participants: ¥4,000
    • Students (undergraduates only): ¥3,000 
  * Light refreshments provided at the venue. Participation fees was fully allocated to operational and venue costs.

 

[Program]

18:30-18:35 Opening Remarks

Yukiko Kawata (Manager, HGPI)

18:35-19:30 Dialogue Session

Speaker: Kohei Onozaki (Board Member, HGPI)
Moderator: Yukiko Kawata (Manager, HGPI)

19:30-19:55 Dialogue with participants

19:55-20:00 Closing

 

■Profile

Kohei Onozaki (Board Member, HGPI)
Professor, Health Policy and Management. Mr. Onozaki has experience working in marketing and sales at Johnson and Johnson, and as Vice President of Corporate Affairs (Legal, Communications, and Health Policy) at AstraZeneca. After joining Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) in 2007, he engaged in many policy projects in various roles including Health Policy Director, President, and has served as a Board Member from 2014. He also works as advisor for EgonZehnder Tokyo Office in the areas of corporate governance, leadership development and organizational transformation mainly in social and public sector. For public service, he served as Special Advisor on Health Policy for the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) from 2015, and served as several government committees including Secretary General (2015) of “Health Care 2035 Advisory Panel”, and Data Health Reform Advisory Group for the Health Minister. Kohei is also a Visiting Professor on Health Policy at the St.Lukes International University, Graduate School of Public Health. He holds BA in Law from Hosei University in Tokyo and earned MS in Health Policy and Management from Harvard School of Public Health.

Yukiko Kawata (Manager, HGPI)
After graduating from the Faculty of Pharma-Science at Teikyo University, Ms. Yukiko Kawata served as a pharmacist at a major dispensing pharmacy chain. In addition to possessing broad knowledge on pharmaceuticals, she has experience in every aspect of dispensing pharmacy operations, including pharmaceutical selection and the expansion of pharmacy services as part of the integrated community care system. She has also served as a Caravan Mate of the Dementia Caravan. She later earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from Keio University Graduate School of Health Management. During graduate school, she conducted research in the field of physical activity epidemiological among elderly people and participated in a World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office (WHO-WPRO) joint project related to that field. She also worked for a healthcare-focused venture and won several contests related to business data (including the Digital Innovators Grand Prix 8 and Macromill’s Data Analysis-Based Market Strategy Planning Contest 2018). She joined Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) in December 2018. At HGPI, she is involved in planning and holding global meetings with domestic and international multi-stakeholders, conducting research, and formulating policy recommendations, mainly for projects related to women’s health, children’s health, dementia, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

■ Proposed Board Member Speakers and Themes for Dialogues:

[DONE] Session 1 (February 14, 2025):
“Enhancing the Efficiency of Healthcare and Elderly Care Services and Improving Productivity through ICT”
Speaker: Shinsuke Muto (Board Member, HGPI)

[DONE] Session 2 (June 27, 2025):
“Japan’s Healthcare Costs and the Sustainability of Universal Health Coverage”
Speaker: Yusuke Tsugawa (Board Member, HGPI)

[DONE] Session 3 (October 7, 2025):
“Reforming the Social Security System and Ensuring Intergenerational Equity”
Speaker: Kohei Onozaki (Board Member, HGPI)

Session 4 (November 11, 2025):
“Strengthening Diverse Social Participation of People with Dementia and Achieving an Inclusive Society”
Speaker: Satoko Hotta (Board Member, HGPI)

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