■ Purpose of these policy recommendations

On October 20, 2025, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) concluded a Coalition Agreement, forming the framework for a new administration in Japan. Stating “Japan faces domestic and international circumstances of unprecedented difficulty,” that Agreement shares the coalition’s intent to “overcome national crises and revitalize Japan.”

While placing our expectations on this new government framework, the Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) Dementia Project has compiled a set of recommendations from the perspective of dementia for the new administration. Under our stated mission of “Achieving citizen-centered health policy,” HGPI aims to present policy options to society that are generated through multi-stakeholder discussions that involve patients, other people with lived experience of health concerns, and citizens. Based on knowledge gathered over the course of hosting various discussions and authoring policy recommendations at the Dementia Project, we offer these recommendations in hopes of setting a better direction for dementia policy in the future. For more details, please see the PDF linked below.

■ Key points of the recommendations

In these recommendations, we identify intersections between the direction set by the Coalition Agreement and dementia policy and propose strategic investments in the three areas described below.

Recommendation 1: Invest in R&D that has meaningful involvement of people living with dementia
Achieving “effective public-private investments based on responsible and proactive financing” in the field of dementia will require strategic investments in R&D that is co-created with people living with dementia, their families, and others close to them. In addition to public-private partnerships (PPPs), building an R&D system that is based on the needs, perspectives, and lived experiences of people living with dementia will be the key for effectively utilizing limited resources and generating internationally competitive innovations.

Recommendation 2: Invest in sustainable service systems
Strategic investments should be made in frameworks that balance sustainability and service quality improvements to create the inclusive society described in the Basic Act on Dementia. Streamlining services through digital technology and other tools or designing them with meaningful involvement from affected parties will make it possible to build sustainable systems while maintaining service quality. It will also be necessary to redefine frameworks of dementia administration to reflect advances in science and medical technology.

Recommendation 3: Invest in a growth strategy that is based on brain health
To create “a society where people can continue working regardless of their age,” strategic investments should be made with brain health at the core of Japan’s growth strategy. Japan should aim to create a “brain economy” and, after positioning brain health as an investment for the future, advance efforts to establish a research infrastructure that includes large cohort studies, research on workplace environments, and the development of educational programs. Making society a place where people make it a habit to maintain brain health will create a social foundation for responding to health concerns at very early stages, which aligns with Prime Minister Takaichi’s vision for “assertive preventive medicine.”

■ About these recommendations

These recommendations provide insight on specific ways that dementia policy can contribute to “revitalizing Japan,” which is a goal of the new administration. Dementia is not only an issue that is related to healthcare and long-term care. Rather, it is an area of policy that can contribute to addressing the crucial national challenges of economic growth, social security sustainability, and achieving an inclusive society. These three recommendations are complementary to each other, are based around involvement for people living with dementia, their families, and others close to them, and indicate a direction for comprehensive policy investments from R&D to the provision of services and the construction of a social foundation.

Please note that these recommendations were compiled by HGPI in its capacity as an independent health policy think-tank. They do not, in any capacity, represent the opinions of experts or speakers who are involved in the HGPI Dementia Project, nor of the companies or organizations with which they are affiliated.