Fungi such as molds, yeasts, and mushrooms can be counted among the first microorganisms that humans recognized the utility of and incorporated into daily life. In addition to helping maintain the Earth’s ecosystems by breaking down organic matter like dead plant and animal material, behind the scenes, fungi are also steadfast supporters of everyday living that drive the processes by which we brew alcohol or ferment foods such as miso and cheese. They also contribute to the production of penicillin and other pharmaceutical products.

However, some fungi can weaken the immune system. harm the body, or cause various diseases. Such diseases are referred to as “fungal infections” or “mycoses,” while harmful varieties of fungi are called “pathogenic fungi.” Fungal infections caused by pathogenic fungi are classified by the parts of the body they infect, and generally fall into one of two categories: superficial mycoses, which are skin conditions like athlete’s foot; or deep mycoses, which can cause symptoms that affect the organs and include infections like mucormycosis and candidiasis. In particular, deep mycoses are said to carry a high risk of resulting in serious, life-threatening medical conditions. Some people are highly vulnerable to deep mycoses, including those with weakened immune systems or in poor general condition, such as patients undergoing organ transplantation, chemotherapy, or immunosuppressive therapy for autoimmune diseases.

While deep mycoses can be treated with antifungals, in recent years, some fungi that have acquired antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have emerged, making such treatments less effective. Antifungal resistance is now becoming a global problem. One such fungi that has become the focus of a great amount of attention is Candida auris (C. auris).

C. auris was discovered in Japan in 2009 by Professor Koichi Makimura, who isolated it from the ear discharge of a patient with a chronic middle ear infection. This domestic strain is less pathogenic and was originally the only strain detected in Japan. Since 2009, many countries around the world have started to report the detection of highly pathogenic, antifungal-resistant strains of C. auris (hereafter, “non-Japanese strains”). In 2022, it was estimated that over 2,300 people were infected with non-Japanese strains of C. auris in the United States, with a crude mortality rate of up to 72% among those infected. Non-Japanese strains of C. auris have already developed resistance to many antifungals. In light of this urgent situation, the World Health Organization (WHO) published its first Fungal Priority Pathogens List that same year, in 2022.

Japan reported its first mortality caused by a strain of C. auris that originated overseas in May 2023, leading the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to issue an alert. The appearance of highly-pathogenic strains originating overseas in Japan is believed to be the result of the widespread travel across international borders that occurs today. As the movement of people and goods grows more and more active, some are concerned that domestic outbreaks of strains originating abroad will grow more widespread in the near future.

In the context of growing demand for measures to combat antifungal resistance around the world, progress must be made on similar discussions in Japan, as well. Fungi are eukaryotes and have cellular structures that are more similar to humans than to bacteria or viruses, so there are unique challenges to developing pharmaceuticals or testing equipment with the capacity to specifically target or detect only fungi. Fungi can also survive in the environment for long periods of time, so focused efforts must be made to devise infection prevention measures. We must now reconsider the priority of issues that are specific to fungal infections within the broader context of AMR control and determine how to advance countermeasures.

HGPI first began holding discussions on AMR control in 2016 and continues to engage in activities that aim to promote policies against AMR. We hope this seminar will contribute to comprehensive discussions on future AMR countermeasures.

[Event Overview]

• Speakers:
  Prof. Koichi Makimura (Deputy Director, Institute of Medical Mycology Professor; Vice-Director, Teikyo University)
  Dr. Yoshitsugu Miyazaki (Director-General, Department of Fungal Infection, National Institute of Infectious Diseases; Director, Leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases)
  Prof. Yuka Yamagishi (Professor, Department of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Kochi Medical School)
• Date & Time: Friday, August 23,2024; from 18:00 to 19:30 JST
• Format: Online (Zoom webinar)(Not available for recording)

  *The presentation slides and edited recording will be shared with individual supporting members only at a later date.

• Language: Japanese
• Participation Fee: Free
• Capacity: 500 participants

■Profiles:

Prof. Koichi Makimura (Deputy Director, Institute of Medical Mycology Professor; Vice-Director, Teikyo University)
Dr. Koichi Makimura MD PhD graduated from Tokyo Medical University (1990) and completed postgraduate studies at Teikyo University. After a fellowship at Tampa Bay Research Institute (1992), he joined Teikyo University Institute of Medical Mycology in 1994. He became a professor in 2011 and Vice Director of the Center in 2021. Notably, he served as the principal investigator for microbiology research in the Japanese Experiment Module of the International Space Station. His research focuses on fungi affecting human health, spanning environments from hospitals to zoos and ancient ruins. Dr. MAKIMURA continues to contribute to all aspects of medical mycology.

Dr. Yoshitsugu Miyazaki (Director-General, Department of Fungal Infection, National Institute of Infectious Diseases; Director, Leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases)
Dr. Yoshitsugu Miyazaki is an expert in internal medicine, particularly infectious diseases, medical mycology, and respiratory medicine. He was appointed as the Director-General of the Department of Fungal Infection since its establishment at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) in 2013. He has been concurrently serving as Director of the Leprosy Research Center at NIID since 2019. He also serves as a member of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Council of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare’s Medical Device and Regenerative Medicine Product Safety Committee.
Dr. Miyazaki joined NIID as Director-General of the Department of Chemotherapy and Mycosis in 2007. Before joining NIID, he was a lecturer in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and the Second Department of Internal Medicine at Nagasaki University Hospital. In 1995 he was a fellow in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States. In 1994 he worked at the Imari Municipal Hospital.
Dr. Miyazaki graduated from Nagasaki University School of Medicine in 1988. He also has a PhD in Medicine from Nagasaki University.

Prof. Yuka Yamagishi (Professor, Department of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Kochi Medical School)
Prof. Yuka Yamagishi, MD, PhD, graduated from Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine and trained as a pediatrician at Gifu University Hospital and in the Department of Infection Control and Prevention at Aichi Medical University Hospital. Before joining Kochi University, she was an associate professor (2016) and a professor (April 2017) of the Clinical Infectious Diseases Program in the Graduate School of Medicine at Aichi Medical University. Dr. Yamagishi became a professor of Infectious Diseases and the Director of Infection Control, Kochi Medical School Hospital on July 2021, and has also served as a professor in the Department of Clinical Infectious Diseases at Kochi Medical School since 2022.
Dr. Yamagishi’s qualifications include certified clinical laboratory physician of the Japanese Society of Laboratory Medicine, board certified pediatrician and board certified supervisor of pediatrics. She is also an infectious disease specialist and consultant of the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Dr. Yamagishi is active in several associations; she serves as a board member of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy, the Japanese Society for Medical Mycology, the Japanese Society for Sexually Transmitted Infections, and the Japan Society of Surgical Infection.

Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) will hold a public symposium titled “Establishing Kidney Disease Control Measures with Patient, Citizen, and Community Engagement and Collaboration” on August 28, 2024.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in its early stages is characterized by a lack of noticeable symptoms, and it is said to be a new national disease, affecting one in seven adults. Efforts by stakeholders in Japan have led to steady progress in CKD management, including raising awareness, improving healthcare infrastructure at the community level, enhancing standards of care, developing human resources, and advancing research and development. However, the increase in the number of dialysis patients (due to both rising incidence and prevalence rates) continues unchecked, with further escalation expected due to Japan’s aging population.

In 2022, HGPI launched the “Kidney Disease Control Promotion Project” and formed a public-private-academic-civic advisory board. HGPI held meetings advocating for the importance of CKD prevention and early intervention, the significance of multidisciplinary and multisectoral collaboration, the need to expand successful local government initiatives, and the promotion of kidney disease strategies based on patient and stakeholder perspectives. In FY2023, HGPI further refined the recommendations from FY2022, conducted interviews about successful local government CKD strategies and challenges, deliberated on solutions to promote CKD initiatives in regions based on these findings, and compiled a policy recommendation document aligned with the patient journey to raise awareness. In addition, lifestyle-related disease meetings were held in Fukuoka City and Sendai City, bringing together administrative officials from local governments. These meetings were held with the aim to exchange views on the need to promote policies across lifestyle-related diseases and to strengthen cooperation among multiple professions and organizations. The resulting findings helped to clarify and summarize issues.

In the third year, FY2024, HGPI will organize a public symposium co-hosted by the Japan Kidney Association. This symposium aims to disseminate the exemplary cases, challenges, solutions discussed, and other outcomes obtained through HGPI’s past activities with society. It will bring together a wide range of stakeholders including governmental bodies (both central and local), legislators, academics, healthcare professionals, and patients/citizens involved in kidney disease management nationwide. The symposium aims to promote collaboration towards the realization of the next steps in patient- and citizen-led CKD strategies.

[Event Overview]

• Date & Time: Wednesday, Aug 28, 2024; from 13:00-18:00 (open from 12:45) JST
• Format:Hybrid (In-Person and Online (Zoom Webinars))
• Venue: International House of Japan (5-11-16 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
• Language: Japanese
• Participation Fee: Free
• Capacity: Venue: 100 / Online: 500
• Organizer: Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI)
• Co-organizer: Japan Kidney Association

*The deadline to register for on-site attendance is August 14 (Wednesday) at 12:00 PM. If applications exceed the venue capacity, a lottery will be conducted. Notifications regarding the status of on-site attendance will be sent to the registered email addresses by August 16 (Friday).

**After completing registration, a confirmation email will be automatically sent to the registered email address. If you do not receive any confirmation, please contact info@hgpi.org.
If the maximum capacity is not reached by August 23 (Friday) at 12:00 PM, registrations will continue to be accepted on this page.

[Program] (Titles omitted, in no particular order)

Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) views proactive involvement from people with lived experience and citizens in the policy formulation process as a key theme for achieving “citizen-centered health policy,” the mission of ours. Over time, we have been engaging in various activities to encourage such involvement.

Since FY2021, we have invited experts specializing in health policymaking process and patient and public involvement (PPI), as well as patient/related party/citizen leaders with extensive experience in participating in health policymaking process, to the Advisory Board and has held a series of discussions to promote meaningful involvement of people with lived experience and citizens in health policymaking process.

In FY2023, based on these discussions, HGPI has compiled the “Guidance on PPI in Health Policymaking” and the policy recommendations “Promoting PPI in Policymaking Process,” to summarize the efforts required of patients, related parties, citizens, and government respectively, and the requirements for patients, related parties, and citizens to participate in health policymaking process.

This expert meeting aims to promote meaningful involvement in policymaking process at all regions in Japan. To achieve the goal, we invite experts, mainly from our Advisory Board, to discuss the democratic process of health policymaking and the actions necessary to promote the meaningful involvement of people with lived experience and citizens in health policymaking.

*Please note that this seminar is available in Japanese only. An English report of this event will be published in due course.

[Event Overview]

• Date & Time: Friday, July 26, 2024, 18:30-19:45 JST
• Format: Online (Zoom Webinar)
• Language: Japanese
• Participation Fee: Free

[Program] (Title omitted, no particular order)

Opening Remarks and Event Overview

Ryoji Noritake (Chair, HGPI)
Takahiro Sakauchi (Manager, HGPI)

Keynote Lecture1 “Trends and Future Prospects in Patient and Public Involvement”

Kaori Muto (Professor, Department of Public Policy Studies, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo)

Keynote Lecture2 ”Meaningful Involvement of People with Lived Experience and Citizens in Policymaking in Democracy”

Akira Morita (Representative Director, Next Generation Fundamental Policy Research Institute)

Round Table Discussion “Shaping the Future of Health Policy with People with Lived Experience and Citizens: Actions Needed to Promote Meaningful Involvement”

Panelists:
Kyoko Ama (Representative, Children and Healthcare Project; Fellow, HGPI)
Shinsuke Amano (Chair, The Japan Federation of Cancer Patient Groups; CEO, Group Nexus Japan)
Naohiro Egawa (Deputy Director, Division of Dementia Policy and Community-Based Long-Term Care Promotion, Health and Welfare Bureau for the Elderly, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW))
Naomi Sakurai (President, Cancer Solutions Co., Ltd)
Takeshi Shukunobe (President and CEO, PPeCC)
Kazuyuki Suzuki (Senior Lead, Patient Engagement Group, Strategy & Execution, Novartis Pharma K.K.)
Yasuhiro Sensho (CEO, SENSHO-GUMI, Co., Ltd.; Former Director-General, MHLW)
Teppei Maeda (Lawyer, Maeda & Unosawa Law Offices; Representative, Medical Basic Act Community)
Ikuko Yamaguchi (Chief Director, Consumer Organization for Medicine and Law (COML))
Risa Yamazaki (Public Affairs Group, External Affairs Department, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., LTD.)
　
Modelater:
Kai Shigeno (Senior Associate, HGPI)