K I Z U NA
Linking Japan and the World

G7 Hiroshima Summit
Investing in Global Health Solutions

Summer2023

KIZUNA

KANAZAWA SHOKO
Calligraphy Artist
Born in Tokyo in 1985, she started learning
calligraphy from her mother when she wasfive years old. One of the notable young
calligraphers of today, her solo exhibitions
have been held throughout the world,in cities such as New York, Singapore,and Prague. She was selected as one of theofficial poster artists for Tokyo 2020.

Welcome to KIZUNA, the official
magazine of the Government of Japan.
This bold work of calligraphy is
絆(kizuna) written in Japanese. Kizuna
means the enduring bonds between
people—close relationships forgedthrough mutual trust and support.
Originally describing the rope used
to tether domestic animals such as
horses and dogs, the meaning of
kizuna has evolved over the years. A
passage in The Tale of the Heike,compiled in the 13th century, uses theterm to refer to the bonds of love
between a father and his children.
More recently, kizuna has gone
beyond bonds tying together family
and close acquaintances; it is now
used in a broader sense of human ties
and connections. Of particular note is
the kizuna born among people during
natural calamities, which fosters
feelings of solidarity and serves as theunderlying strength to overcome
hardships.
Similarly, the kizuna cultivatedamong the countries of the world has
the power to deepen cooperation for abetter future. By reporting on a wide
variety of topics concerning Japan, we
hope that this magazine will provide
opportunities for Japan and the rest of
the world to connect and build
strong kizuna.

CONTENTS
G7 HIROSHIMA SUMMIT

04

Historical Significance of the G7 Hiroshima Summit
INVESTING IN GLOBAL HEALTH SOLUTIONS

06

Promoting Global Health, Starting from Nagasaki

08

Impact Investing in Global Health:Japan’s Commitment as a Frontrunner

10

Public-Private Fund Bolsters
Global Partnerships in Fighting Infectious Diseases

12

Steady Progress Toward Eliminating
Global Healthcare Disparities

14

Delivering Safe, Quality Medical Care forComprehensive Support in India

16

Drone Surveillance of Malaria:
A Japanese Startup’s Global Health Efforts

18

Utilizing Microorganisms to Purify Water andEnhance Public Health20

Taking Practical Steps for Achieving a World
Without Nuclear Weapons

22

Japan Continues to Stand with Ukraine

24

Creative Reconstruction Brings Hopes and Dreams
to Life in Fukushima

26

Cultivating Future Global Talent withJapanese Values

28

Experience Sake Brewing at the World’s First
Sake-Brewery Hotel
PORTRAITS OF JAPAN30

Unforgettable Summer Experiences Await You
in Japan

TO READ MORE CONTENT,CHECK OUT OUR WEB MAGAZINE.
https://www.japan.go.jp/kizuna/

Summer 2023

COVER
Top: G7 Hiroshima Summit Session 1(Working Lunch) on May 19.
Bottom left: A visit to Itsukushima
Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage
Site, also on May 19.
Bottom right: Wreath-laying at the
Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb
Victims in the Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Park by Prime Minister
Kishida (right) and Ukrainian
President Zelenskyy on May 21.

03

G7 HIROSHIMA SUMMITHISTORICALSIGNIFICANCE OF THE
G7 HIROSHIMA SUMMITThe G7 Hiroshima Summit was convened from May 19 to 21. G7 leaders held candid and in-depth discussions on
the various issues that the international community is facing. The leaders of eight invited countries and the heads ofseven international organizations, as well as Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, also participated. Prime Minister
Kishida reflected on the Summit, saying that it was a meeting of “historical significance.”
In May 2023, the G7 Hiroshima Summit wasconvened for three days. The leaders of the G7,along with leaders of eight invited countries, namely
Australia, Brazil, Comoros, the Cook Islands, India,
Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, and Vietnam, as
well as the heads of seven international organizations,
namely the United Nations, the International Energy
Agency (IEA), the International Monetary Fund(IMF), the Organization for Economic Co-operation
Prime Minister Kishida andUkrainian President Zelenskyy,
who visited Japan to attend
some of the sessions of theSummit, laid wreaths at the
Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb
Victims in the Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Park.

and Development (OECD), the World Bank, theWorld Health Organization (WHO, attended
online), and the World Trade Organization (WTO),
attended the meetings. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
also participated. The “G7 Hiroshima Leaders’Communiqué” and five standalone statements were
issued at the meetings.
Prime Minister Kishida made it clear that theoverall theme of the Summit was to confirm theunity of the G7 and strengthen the roles of the G7
toward an international community characterizedby cooperation, not division and confrontation, andto demonstrate active and concrete contributions
toward this aim. For this purpose, the G7 leaders
shared the importance of the two perspectives, namely,
upholding the free and open international order basedon the rule of law, and strengthening engagement withinternational partners beyond the G7.
Hiroshima was the first city in the world to be hit
by an atomic bomb, and the leaders of the G7 andthe invited countries, the heads of the internationalorganizations, as well as President Zelenskyy, visitedthe Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and laid
flowers at the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb
Victims in the Peace Memorial Park. The G7 leaders
had detailed discussions on the realization of a “world
without nuclear weapons” and issued the “G7 Leaders’
Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament”—thefirst stand-alone G7 leaders’ document focusing
on nuclear disarmament. The G7 will continue tostrengthen its realistic and practical efforts towards

The G7 leaders participating in a family photo. From left: Charles Michel, President of the European
Council, Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada,
Emmanuel Macron, President of France, KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, Joe Biden,
President of the United States, Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of
the United Kingdom, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

realizing the vision.
invited countries and the heads of the international
As Russia’s aggression against Ukraine continues, the organizations had candid discussions on a broad
G7 leaders reaffirmed their unwavering commitment range of global challenges including development,
to providing the necessary support for Ukraine for as food, health, gender, the climate, energy and thelong as it takes and concurred on concrete efforts for environment. They shared the view that these issues
strengthening sanctions against Russia, releasing the need to be tackled in close cooperation with a wide
“G7 Leaders’ Statement on Ukraine.” They also had a range of international partners. The leaders of the G7
candid discussion with President Zelenskyy.
and the invited countries jointly issued the “Hiroshima
The G7 leaders held earnest discussions on regional Action Statement for Resilient Global Food Security”
situations, focusing on the Indo-Pacific. They and concurred on the need for cooperation.
reiterated the importance of realizing a free and open
Finally, the leaders of the G7, the invited countries
Indo-Pacific (FOIP) and confirmed that they will and Ukraine had a candid discussion on the peacecontinue to work closely together to address various and stability of the world. They shared a recognition
issues related to China and those related to North of the importance of the rule of law and the principles
Korea, including the nuclear and missile development enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
and the abduction issue.
The three-day meeting ended with “historicalAlso, for the first time, the G7 leaders addressed significance,” showing the world that the G7, in close
economic resilience and economic security as a stand- cooperation with international partners, will makealone agenda item of a G7 Summit. The G7 leaders continuous efforts for a peaceful and prosperous world.
confirmed their united response to and follow up on a Japan will proceed to make full use of the fruitfulrange of issues that need to be tackled in the long term discussions and the outcome of the Summit.
and in close coordination. They
sent comprehensive and concrete
messages by issuing the “G7Leaders’ Statement on Economic
Resilience
andEconomic
Security.” They also issued the“G7 Clean Energy Economy
Action Plan,” which covers the Above: The Japan-Australia-India-U.S.
Leaders’ Meeting was held inbuilding of resilient supply chains (Quad)
Hiroshima as the third in-person meetingof clean energy including critical reaffirming steadfast commitment to a free
and open Indo-Pacific.
minerals.
Right: The G7 leaders, along with the
The leaders of the G7 and the leaders of eight invited countries and theheads of seven international organizations,discussed such issues as food, health,development, and gender.

05

PROMOTINGGLOBALHEALTHSTARTING FROM NAGASAKI

Left: Professor KANEKO Satoshi (center) specializes inecological epidemiology and serves as deputy dean of
the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University,
as well as head of its branch in Kenya and director of its
Neglected Tropical Diseases Innovation Center.
Top right: Nagasaki University has a graduate schoolthat provides high-level international education in
partnership with the London School of Hygiene andTropical Medicine, with a focus on fostering humanresources who can contribute to global health.
Bottom right: Professor MORITA Koichi, a virology
specialist, serves as director of the DEJIMA Infectious
Disease Research Alliance at Nagasaki University.

Nagasaki, the site of the G7 Health Ministers’ Meeting, is home to a leading university in the field of infectious
disease research. What does this university, with its extensive work on global health—especially tropical diseaseresearch—aim to achieve in the post-COVID-19 world?
Nagasaki, situated on theisland of Kyushu in southwest
Japan, will host the G7 Health
Ministers’ Meeting in May.
Given COVID-19’s devastating
global impact and the reminder
it has provided of the horrors

06

that a pandemic can bring, thedeliberations at the meeting
will work toward strengthening
global health architecture toensure better health and living
standards for all people.
As Japan’s only link to theWest from the 17th to mid-19th
centuries, Nagasaki was onceat the forefront of Japan’s fightagainst the influx of infectious
diseases from abroad and it wasalso where Western medicine
was first introduced to theINVESTING IN GLOBAL HEALTH SOLUTIONS

country. A medical training
school established there in 1857
formed the foundations of today’s
Nagasaki University. Building on
more than 160 years of experiencein fighting unknown infectious
diseases, the university now leads
Japan’s research into such illnesses.
Professor KANEKO Satoshi,
an expert on epidemiology, isdeputy dean of the Institute ofTropical Medicine, Nagasaki
University, Japan’s only research
center for such medicine.
He said, “Often, developing
countries lack properly organizeddata on their inhabitants andmedical treatments. That makes
it hard to see which infectious
diseases are occurring where,
and on what scale.” The institute,in collaboration with NEC
Corporation and the Kenya
Medical Research Institute,has developed the world’s first
vaccination management system
for newborns, equipping it withbiometric authentication toreliably validate guardians’ voices
and newborns’ fingerprints. A
demonstration test has been
underway at a Kenyan hospital
since September 2022, with theaim of full-scale introduction into

A gatepost from Nagasaki Medical College,
the predecessor of Nagasaki University,
remains on campus as a reminder of the city’s
atomic bombing. Located within the site of an
atomic bombing, the university is also
committed to world peace.

A vaccination management system for newborns has beenequipped with biometric authentication. The photoshows medical staff capturing the fingerprints of anewborn baby in Kenya.

the country by the end of 2023.
Kaneko said, “If we can makethe technology’s use feasible andmore widespread, not only will
we be able to manage vaccinations,but we will also be able to obtain
big data in the future linked todiverse information such as that
related to diseases and the living
environment. That could form thebasis for various types of researchand, I hope, lead to solutionsin impoverished areas. We canalso use the system—originallydesigned for developing countries
with weak IT infrastructure—indeveloped countries as well, forinstance in times of natural disaster.”Nagasaki University will also
work to bolster its researchcapabilities to prepare for the
next pandemic. In April 2022,
the university established the
DEJIMA Infectious Disease
Research Alliance to consolidate
thetalentandresearch
infrastructure scattered among
various institutions on campus.
In October of the same year,
the Alliance also established
the Vaccine Research andDevelopment Center, which
has been conducting integrated
R&D activities ranging frombasic vaccine research to thedevelopment of manufacturing

processes. Additionally, theAlliance is gearing up to achieve
the goals of the 100 Days
Mission—unveiled at the 2021
G7 Summit—to develop vaccines
within 100 days after the next
pandemic is declared. As Professor
MORITA Koichi, the Alliance’s
director, said, “What’s mostimportant is people.” Beyond theconventional university system,
the institute seeks to recruit
talented people from outside
the medical field and collaborate
with private companies and otheruniversities on R&D. “Today,
environmental problems andother compounding factors arealso causing infectious diseases tospread. I hope that new ideas will
come about not just through theincorporation of classical researchmethods, but also through thesuggestions coming from various
other fields,” Morita said.
Due to its location, whichis particularly open to theworld, Nagasaki University
has long taken on the threatsthat infectious diseases pose tohumanity. The university willcontinue to lead infectious diseaseresearch, examine the challenges
behind such diseases, and work
toward better global health using
a comprehensive approach.

07

INVESTING IN GLOBAL HEALTH SOLUTIONSIMPACT INVESTING
IN GLOBAL HEALTH:JAPAN’S COMMITMENT AS A FRONTRUNNER

Global health’s importance is garnering attention. To encourage capital inflows to this sector,
the Japanese government is advocating the promotion of impact investing. We asked SHIBUSAWA Ken,
who chaired the government’s study group, about impact investing’s potential.
The G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué fromthe Summit in May included the following sentence:“We emphasize the important role of the private
sector towards sustainable financing in global
health, including through impact investments andendorse the Triple I (Impact Investments Initiative)
for Global Health.” In the wake of the COVID-19

After working in the investment bank and hedge fundindustries, he founded the advisory firm Shibusawa
and Company as well as Commons Asset Managementin 2008 in order to promote long-term investment as
a form of asset-building for Japanese individuals. He
also founded &Capital in 2023 for impact investments
into Africa from Japan. He is a member of the Japanese
government’s Council of New Form of Capitalism
Realization as well as the SDG Impact Steering Groupin the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP). He is also involved in promoting the ideasof his ancestor SHIBUSAWA Eiichi, the “father ofJapanese capitalism.”08

pandemic, the concept of global health, which aims
to address public health in a way that transcends
national borders and to have a tremendous impact
on the world’s economies and societies throughinternational collaboration, is rapidly spreading. To
support this, the G7 has declared to the world that it
will promote impact investing in global health.

Since the late 1990s, theJapanesegovernmenthas been committed tohuman security and has
supported
initiatives
related to the healthcare
sector in order toachieve universal healthcoverage (UHC) aroundthe world, particularlyin the Global South.
IMAMURA KENSHIRO/JICA

SHIBUSAWA Ken, chair of the Japanese
government’s Study Group on Impact Investment
for Global Health, said, “Japan has long emphasizedglobal health in its overall diplomatic strategy. In
addition to that, one of the core components of theKishida administration’s ‘new form of capitalism’is ‘investing in people,’ and health is the bedrock ofhuman capital.”
The goal of impact investing is to not only generate
a financial return, but also have a positive, measurablesocial impact. Of particular importance is the“intent” for impact, and to show intent, impact must
be measurable.

Ahead of the G7 Hiroshima Summit, promoting impact investing in
global health was also a topic of discussion at the G7 Health Ministers’Meeting. The meeting was held in Nagasaki, the site of the atomic
bombing that followed that of Hiroshima. After the meeting, ministers
from each country visited the Nagasaki Peace Park and offered flowers to
the victims of the bombing. KYODO NEWS/GETTY IMAGES

Some believe that impact investment is “postESG” in that it is more proactive compared to ESG
investment (“E” for “environment”, “S” for “society,”and “G” for “governance”), where the investor isusually the one who demands disclosure on nonfinancial values. While “E” and “G” are easy tomeasure, “S” has been more difficult due to thedifferent characteristics of regions and cultures, aswell as the dearth of science-based metrics.
However, healthcare includes vital metrics thatcan be measurable and is science-based, hence thepotential to be a universal “common language” forthe category of “S.” Some Japanese companies, likethe major pharmaceutical company Eisai and theventure company SORA Technology, are taking theinitiative to express their corporate value in relation
to this category. For example, Eisai was the firstcompany in the world to disclose the positive social
impact of its product.
Shibusawa said, “Just as GX (Green
Transformation) is not regarded as increased costs
but an opportunity for innovation and the growth of
new industries, global health is also not just about thecost—it is an initiative to stimulate a growth industry
for private sector businesses, and impact investing is
a new concept being developed for the valuation ofthat industry.”
Japan is a country that has long promoted global
health for the developing countries of the Global
South, and as such is in a good position to leadinitiatives involving impact investing that promotea new flow of private sector capital for this very
important global issue of “leaving no one behind.”09

Dengue fever, rabies, and other neglected
tropical diseases (NTDs) impedeeconomic growth and human developmentin impoverished areas. The photo shows apatient being treated for mycetoma. The
GHIT Fund has invested in a project
undertaken by Eisai Co., Ltd. to develop
therapeutic drugs for the disease.
LAMECK ODODO-DNDI

PUBLIC -PRIVATE FUND
BOLSTERS GLOBALPARTNERSHIPSIN FIGHTING INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Neglected infectious diseases threaten the lives and health of multitudes in the world’s low- and middle-income
countries. The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, based in Japan, promotes global partnerships between
public and private actors in developing drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics, thus contributing to healthcare systems thatleave no one behind.
Infectious diseases such as
neglected
tropicaldiseases(NTDs),
tuberculosis,
andmalaria greatly affect and threaten
the health and lives of more thana billion people in the low- andmiddle-income countries of
the world. However, researchand development into drugs,
tests and vaccines that target
those infectious diseases havenot been tackled well in highincome countries, where they are10less prevalent, as the return on
investment has been deemed to
be low. Instead, medical researchin these countries has tended tofocus on other diseases such as
cancer.
The Global Health Innovative
Technology (GHIT) Fund wasestablished in 2013 as a uniqueglobal public-private fund withthe goal of making the world aplace where adequate medical
treatment is available to all,

KUNII Osamu, MD, MPH, PhD, CEO of the
GHIT Fund, has worked for UNICEF and the
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis andMalaria, and has strived for improved global
health in such fields as infectious disease control,maternal and child health, and humanitarianrelief. He is committed to improving access to
medical technology and services for the countless
number of people underserved or left behind inover 130 countries. He regards the GHIT Fund
as a way to provide support by positioning
domestic and overseas partners in a win-win
relationship.

INVESTING IN GLOBAL HEALTH SOLUTIONS

promoting the development ofdrugs, vaccines, and diagnostics
to treat and prevent infectious
diseases. Its funding partners
include the Government ofJapan; the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation; Wellcome,a global charitable foundation;and various Japanese and global
pharmaceutical companies. Up
to now, a total of 170 productdevelopment partners haveparticipated in a system of open
innovation that generates new
countermeasures by linking
Japan’s leading technologies withoverseas resources and networks.
“The GHIT Fund emphasizes
partnerships,”
says
KUNII
Osamu, CEO of the fund. “Drugdevelopment is extremely costly
and requires years to complete.
The success rate is low for single
businesses and universities. It is
important to accelerate the process
and improve the success rate bystrengthening cooperation.”In the decade since its
inception, the GHIT Fund has
invested 29.1 billion yen in a totalof 118 projects. Clinical trials
are underway for 12 of them.
One involves the developmentof a drug to treat mycetoma, an
infection frequently caused bybacteria or fungi picked up while
walking barefoot. Eisai Co., Ltd.,
Japan had already developed adrug for onychomycosis, whichis expected to be also effective
against mycetoma. A partnershipwith the Drugs for Neglected
Diseases initiative (DNDi), aninternational NPO, was thus
initiated and became the basis
for an ongoing effort to develop

a drug that is safer and more
effective than existing ones.
The first GHIT-funded drug
project to apply for approval inclinical use involves a pediatricdrug
forschistosomiasis(bilharzia), an infection causedby exposure to contaminatedwater, and which can damage
internal organs. An application
for the drug was submitted to theEuropean Medicines Agency inDecember 2022. Merck KGaA,a pharmaceutical company basedin Germany, had already provided
the world with an effective
therapeutic drug, but a pediatricversion of the drug was yet toexist. Oral tablets for adults were
not only too large—they were also
bitter and difficult to administerto infants and young children.
Astellas Pharma Inc. of Japan,
on the other hand, possessed
the necessary technology to
manufacture small pills without
the bitter taste, which makes themeasier for preschool-aged children
to swallow, and collaborated withMerck to develop a pediatric drug
for schistosomiasis. If approved,
the drug may bring relief to morethan 50 million children sufferingfrom the disease.
“Japan prioritized measuresagainst infectious diseases as oneof the important agenda items at
the G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit
in 2000. Since then, the country
has continued to emphasize theimportance of global health,”
Kunii explains. At the G7 IseShima Summit in 2016, thepromotion of universal healthcoverage—the idea that everyone,
everywhere, should be able to

In addition to AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis,
NTDs are rampant in developing countries. The
GHIT Fund was established as a means of linking
Japanese technology and innovations with thedevelopment of new tools to combat those diseases.

access quality health services—
was presented for the first time
as a major agenda item. “Japan
has continued to assert that anemphasis on health would increase
the resilience of communities andreduce poverty,” says Kunii. At apress conference following the G7
Hiroshima Summit in May of thisyear, Prime Minister KISHIDA
Fumio mentioned that Japanplanned to make contributions
totaling approximately 7.5 billion
U.S. dollars from the public
and private sectors toward theenhancement of global health,including a 200 million U.S.
dollar pledge to the GHIT Fundby the government.
Going forward, the GHIT
Fund will further accelerate thedevelopment of various drugs,
vaccines, and diagnostics, withadditional plans in place to fortify
efforts and partnerships to deliver
the products resulting from thatwork to the people in need byensuring equitable and timely
access. Kunii concludes, “TheGHIT Fund will be the leverageand catalyst to make our world
better. We want to be a driving
force for a greater future.”

11

STEADY PROGRESS TOWARD

ELIMINATINGGLOBAL HEALTHCAREDISPARITIESMaking healthcare services more widely available is essential for people
around the world to lead healthier lives. One of the missions of Japan’s
National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM) is to engage ininternational healthcare collaboration. How is it tackling this challenge?
Many people in the world stilllack access to adequate healthcare
services. Given this situation,
the Japanese government has
been promoting global health asa priority area for international
cooperation, with the National
Center for Global Health andMedicine (NCGM) at the coreof this initiative. The NCGM

12

conducts research and develops
technology for infectious diseases
and other illnesses, while also
being involved in international
healthcare collaboration throughresearch and training for technicalspecialists.
Dr. OBARA Hiromi, anobstetrician-gynecologist at the
NCGM’s Bureau of International

Health Cooperation, is originallyfrom Aomori Prefecture in
northern Japan. Born and raised
in a sparsely populated region
with no large hospitals nearby,
she recognized the disparity inmedical care between urban andrural areas. When Obara joined
an NGO with activities based in
Cambodia during her fourth yearof medical school, she learned that
global disparities in healthcare are
beyond comparison in terms of
their severity, which eventually
led to her decision to pursue a
career in international health.
At the time, the concept ofsexual and reproductive healthand rights was just beginning toINVESTING IN GLOBAL HEALTH SOLUTIONS

At a conference held in Tokyo by the WHO
Western Pacific Regional Office under the cosponsorship of the NCGM, the administrative
officer of the Lao Ministry of Health presented a“Plan to Improve the Quantity and Quality of
Newborn Care.” Dr. OBARA Hiromi is on the
far right of the photo.

attract the international medical
community’s attention. With
the prospect of being involved inissues related to women’s lifelong
health, such as childbirth, Obara
decided to major in obstetrics andgynecology.
From 2001 to 2003, she wasinvolved in a project in Cambodia
for maternal and child healthrun by the Japan International
Cooperation Agency ( JICA) as along-term expert in obstetrics andgynecology. She assisted doctors
and midwives working in rural
areas of Cambodia, which had
lost many such healthcare workers
during its civil war. With Japanese
grant aid, JICA established the
National Maternal and Child
Health Center (NMCHC) in
Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital.
During the course of the project,the medical staff at the NMCHC
led training for workers in thesame professions in rural areas.
Obara and her JICA team helped
design the training and midwifery
support programs, which are
tailored to the level of medicalcare and locally available resourcesin each area.
In 2005, she joined theInternational Medical Center ofJapan, the NCGM’s predecessor,
because she wanted to be

fully involved in international
healthcare cooperation. She
spent 12 years in three countries,
collaborating
withmedicalprofessionals
andhealthadministrators in each country
to improve maternal and childhealthcare systems.
Leveraging her experience inseveral low- and middle-income
countries, Obara has served on
many committees to formulate
the guidelines of the World
Health Organization (WHO)on maternal and child healthcare.
She believes her role is to be thevoice for those working in medical
settings in such countries. She
said, “To ensure that guidelines
will be implemented properlyin each country, I try to provide
technical information that will
make these guidelines easy tounderstand and implement as
well.”The goal of the NCGM’s
Bureau of International Health
Cooperation is to achieve
universal
healthcoverage(UHC), which means all people
having access to appropriate andaffordable services that promotehealth and provide preventive
care, medical treatment, andrehabilitation. Obara said, “There
are people in the world who can’t
receive healthcare because they
can’t afford the medical bills or thecost of transportation to hospital,
while others hesitate to seek carebecause they are unaware thatthey have access to their country’s
health insurance system. In Laos,
we made sure that the Maternaland Child Health Handbook
indicates that giving birth is free.”She feels that in order to achieve
UHC, steady action is required
to ensure that the fundamentals
of basic healthcare services areprovided and are accessible tomore people.
“We’re not doing anything
extraordinary. I hold profoundrespect for the local people andtheir enthusiasm,” Obara saidmodestly. However, the work she
and her colleagues have put into build trust with communities
is the cornerstone of the wider
effort to bring healthcare services
to people around the world.

Left: Obara (right) with a WHO official at a meeting to modify and finalize the Maternal and Child
Health Handbook in Laos.
Right: The Maternal and Child Health Handbook in Laos that Obara and others were involved in
producing. The handbook includes such messages as the statement that giving birth is free, informing
people of the availability of various systems related to maternal and child healthcare.

13

INVESTING IN GLOBAL HEALTH SOLUTIONSIn 2019, Sakra World Hospital began offering ahome-care service to support discharged patients.
Staff members make visits to patients’ homes toperform nursing care, take blood samples, andoffer rehabilitation. In those activities, they makeuse of know-how developed in Japan to cope withthe country’s aging population.

DELIVERING SAFE,QUALITY MEDICAL CARE
FOR COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT IN INDIAIn the city of Bengaluru in southern India, a Japanese-style
general hospital is leveraging its know-how to conquer
India’s medical-care challenges, demonstrating positive
results. What approaches should be taken within flexible
and advanced medical care to meet the needs and matchthe realities of a rapidly growing emerging country?
Bengaluru in southern India
is a city that encapsulates the
dynamically growing India of
today. While it is a modern citywith an intense concentration of
IT and biotech industries—not
to mention its population of over
10 million—it also faces multiple
challenges, such as poverty andslow progress in the developmentof its social infrastructure. Witha growing economy and thelargest population in the world,

14

INDIA

the demand for quality in thefield of medical care across thecountry as a whole is also rising,but access to such services ismeager, with shortages of both
doctors and hospital beds. There
are also serious inequalities in the
country’s medical care due partly
to the underdeveloped healthinsurance system.
Recent years have seen Japanesecompanies initiating activities
in India to address such issues.

JAPAN

A leading pioneer in the fieldis Bengaluru’s Sakra World
Hospital, the first general hospitalin India to be run by Japanesemanagement. It has morethan 220 physicians providing
advanced acute care in over 35
specialist fields, including thoserelated to neurological disorders
and cardiovascular and digestive
diseases. It is operated by Secom
Medical System Co., Ltd., which,among other activities, engages

in hospital management support
and offers home nursing services
in Japan, and Toyota Tsusho
Corporation, the trading arm of
the Toyota Group.
The hospital now has some
1,400 new inpatients permonth, but when it was foundedin 2014, it initially faced amountain of challenges—fromthe establishment of an adequate
management system to thedevelopment of human resources.
ISHIDA Shiori of the hospitalmanagement division of Secom
Medical System said, “Whilelearning from scratch about
medical care in India, we havestrived to create a system thatprovides safe medicine.” By
practicing kaizen (the businessphilosophy of constantly reviewing

Top: Equipped with an emergency outpatient ward
and rehabilitation center, Sakra is located in the
Bellandur district of southeastern Bengaluru, where
IT companies are concentrated. In 2025 or 2026, asecond hospital is set to be established in a different
district of the city, offering advanced forms ofcare such as cancer treatment and comprehensive
health checkup services, among others.
Bottom: “Over the course of many years, Sakra
has cultivated an approach that emphasizes theequality of life. Thanks to that, some people,
confident in getting treated, traveled long
distances to the hospital during the COVID-19
pandemic. We want to continue to cherish that
culture,” said ISHIDA Shiori of the hospitalmanagement division of Secom Medical System.

Left: Sakra is partnered with Japanese hospitals thatprovide advanced medical care, and actively engages
in staff exchanges with them. According to Ishida,
Japanese doctors also have much to learn from Sakra,
thanks to its many doctors with experience inWestern countries, as well as its abundance andvariety of case studies.
Right: Making use of Japan’s nursing-education know-how, the hospital imparts not just nursing techniques
but also such other skills as those related to hospitality. Sakra has created a career path that promotes
excellent nurses to more important positions, which has improved their motivation and awareness.

operations to improve work
efficiency and safety) in allits departments, the hospital
upgraded the effectiveness ofmany of its operations—including
responses to nurse calls and waitingtimes in the hospital pharmacy—
and significantly enhanced theawareness of the staff.
Focus is also placed oninteraction with Japanese medical
institutions. Not only do doctors
actively conduct mutual visits andjoint case reviews, but selected
members of the nursing team also
visit Japanese hospitals to learn
about nursing operations. “Thistraining has had a significant
impact. The key to attracting
and developing excellent humanresources is the provision oflearning opportunities that money
cannot buy,” said Ishida.
While enhancing the qualityof medical care, the hospital also
aims to provide care to a broader
swath of the population. Nearly
50 of the 307 hospital beds are thesimple economy type, enhancing
accessibility for lower-income
patients. Amid the COVID-19
pandemic, more than 5,900 patients,
regardless of financial status, weretreated. “At first, there were some
who were strongly opposed tosuch an indiscriminate approach

to treatment. But the hospital’semphasis on the equality of all
human lives helped it to gain
the trust of the local people,”
said Ishida. The number ofpatients choosing the hospital has
continued to increase, even since
the pandemic’s containment.
Now, one future goal of thehospital is to build a systemproviding seamless care—fromconvalescent care following
hospital discharge to home medicalcare support—by establishingclinics and providing homecare services in the surrounding
communities. Ishida explainedthat“primarycare
andpostoperative follow-ups will
be conducted at clinics or athome, and patients who needdetailed examinations or surgery
will be sent to Sakra. In Japan,
this is known as a ‘communitybased integrated care system,’but the concept itself has yet
to be introduced to India on anational scale.” Since 2019, Sakra
has been operating its first clinic
and offering home-care services.
Utilizing the experiences at Sakra
to build a system that meets theneeds of Indian society: such
efforts will surely constitute a
step toward a more secure andabundant future.

15

DRONESURVEILLANCE
OF MALARIA:
A JAPANESE STARTUP’SGLOBAL HEALTH EFFORTS

Malaria is killing people and hampering economic growth in Africa.
To eradicate this infectious disease, a Japanese startup has been utilizing
drone technology.
Malaria ranks with acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS) and tuberculosis as
one of the world’s three major
infectious diseases. Plasmodium
falciparum, a parasite carried bymosquitoes, breeds in red blood
cells, causing a high fever andother symptoms that often leadto death if not treated promptly
and appropriately. According to16

a report by the World HealthOrganization (WHO), an
estimated 247 million people
worldwide were infected withmalaria in 2021, of whom
619,000 died. Ninety percent ofmalaria cases are concentrated
in Africa, posing a serious threat
to the health of Africans andstunting social development
through higher medical costs,

Drone demonstrations and training in Sierra
Leone, in collaboration with the Directorateof Science, Technology and Innovation andNjala University. Fixed-wing drones are often
used because of their long flight range andeasy maintenance. The company’s founderand CEO, KANEKO Yosuke, is in the frontrow, far left.

absenteeism among children, anda decline in the labor force.
SORA Technology, a Japanesestartup, has joined the fightagainst malaria. The company
has developed SORA Malaria
Control (sora meaning “sky”
in Japanese), a service thatcombines aerial drone images
with multiple AI technologies
to efficiently detect and manage
puddles with a considerable riskof harboring mosquito larvae.
Since 2022, SORA Technology
has been running a pilot projectto implement this service inSierra Leone, a country on the
coast of Western Africa. While
the WHO has recognized larvalsource management (LSM) as ahighly effective method, it is not
yet in widespread use due to theINVESTING IN GLOBAL HEALTH SOLUTIONS

labor costs involved in finding
puddles and spraying insecticides,
not to mention the large amountof insecticides required forsuch a task. But SORA Malaria
Control can reduce those costs
significantly, which bodes wellfor the implementation of
LSM. SORA Technology plans
to complete its pilot projectin 2024, obtain funding fromlocal government agencies andinternational donors, then begin
full-scale project implementation.
As mosquitoes and water transmit
many other infectious diseases
in addition to malaria, such as
cholera and dengue fever, research
is underway to apply SORA
Malaria Control to the buildingof surveillance systems for thosetransmissible diseases as well.
Mary Yeboah Asantewaa,
from Ghana, works as a Health
Tech/Africa Business Specialist
at SORA Technology. She said,“I joined SORA Technology
because I wanted to engage in
Africa-related work for a techcompany that’s committed to
global health.” As the only African
employee, she is working hard tobuild a network for the effective
use of drone technology on theJapan has a long history of medical cooperationin Africa, having established the Noguchi
Memorial Institute for Medical Research in
Ghana in 1979 to study infectious diseases.
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida visited theinstitute this May.

Left: Drone flight tests in Sierra Leone. Since multicopter drones have an advantage over fixed-wingdrones in terms of imaging accuracy, both may be used depending on the situation.
Right: SORA Malaria Control utilizes several image analysis technologies to determine the parametersof puddles, including depth, temperature, and the surrounding vegetation, in order to assess the risk ofmosquito larvae breeding.

continent. SORA Technology
signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with
Senegal’s Institut Pasteur de
Dakar in January 2023. The
MOU states that both parties will
initiate discussions and explore
innovative collaboration on theuse of drones as a tool to prevent
future infectious disease outbreaks
and improve public health in rural
Africa. Earlier, SORA Technology
had concluded an MOU on the“Establishment of Medical Drone
Infrastructure in Sierra Leone”
with Sierra Leone’s Directorateof Science, Technology andInnovation and Njala University,
to build drone infrastructure withthe primary purpose of delivering
medical supplies. The company
plans to continue researching
the operation of SORA Malaria
Control in collaboration withacademia, and to work with the
Noguchi Memorial Institute for
Medical Research in Ghana on
measures to combat a new species
of mosquito, Anopheles stephensi,
that has appeared in Ghana.
SORA Technology’s efforts
were accepted because of thetrust that Japan has built up
over many years of international

cooperation. Asantewaa said, “We
Africans need the cooperationof the Japanese government andJapan’s superior technology, suchas that provided through theJapan International Cooperation
Agency ( JICA).” Japan willcontinue to focus on cooperation
at both the national-government
and private-sector levels toeradicate malaria and otherinfectious diseases.

Mary Yeboah Asantewaa became interested inhealthcare after volunteering at a hospital while astudent at the University of Ghana. She studiedin Japan through the Japan Africa Dream
Scholarship program, a project launched in 2017by the African Development Bank and theGovernment of Japan, where she earned amaster’s degree in public health. Based on such abackground, she focuses on leveraging drone
technology and data analytics to bridge
healthcare gaps and empower communities
through SORA Technology.

17

INVESTING IN GLOBAL HEALTH SOLUTIONSUTILIZINGMICROORGANISMSTOPURIFYWATER
AND ENHANCE PUBLIC HEALTH
A Japanese researcher has been promoting a method called the ecological purification system to purify water
utilizing the activities of small organisms. What is this low-tech but smart solution that produces safe and affordable
drinking water to help protect people’s health?
Ensuring access to safe andaffordable drinking water is oneof the United Nations’ Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs),
but it has yet to be achieved for 2
billion people worldwide.
“In places without safe accessto this vital resource, slight
improvements to water for drinking
and cooking can reduce instancesof diarrhea or dermatologicaldiseases. You’ll then see a change
in people’s health awareness. The
key is promoting sustainable,
do-it-yourself technologies andfosteringawareness,”says
NAKAMOTO Nobutada, Professor
Emeritus of Shinshu University.
As a leading researcher on
biological purification throughslow sand filtration, Nakamoto
has worked to build sustainable
water purification systems in suchdeveloping countries as Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Fiji, and Samoa.
Slow sand filtration, a water
purification technique invented
in the U.K. during the 19th
century, was thought to physicallyremove contamination by slowly

NAKAMOTO Nobutada, who has been disseminating theecological purification system within developing countries, ispictured at the Someya Water Treatment Plant in Ueda City,
Nagano Prefecture, where he has been conducting researchfor decades. The plant uses the ecological purification system(EPS). After 100 years of operation, the plant is still
delivering clean water to citizens. THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Ecological Purification System

Raw water
Biological layer
Sand layer

Water
flow

The Japanese government is promoting global
health as a priority area of international
cooperation. In the Global Health Strategy set
forth in May 2022, it called for thestrengthening of efforts toward tackling theworld’s water and sanitation problems. JICA
has been encouraging the use of EPS for water
treatment. Nakamoto (right photo, far right)
visited Fiji as a JICA expert and gave direct
guidance to local officials. Since then, 100
Fijian villages have built biofiltration water
purification facilities by using EPS.

Gravel layer
Purified water

filtering water down throughpebble and sand layers. It was
known that microorganisms in
the upper layer of sand break
down and remove pathogens anddirt, but Nakamoto, an expert
on algae, noticed that algae
also assisted in the process. The
water became tastier when algae
multiplied in copious quantities
at a water treatment plant that had
stopped using algicide. Throughphotosynthesis, the algae createdan oxygen-rich environment inwhich microorganisms accelerate
decomposition.
Nakamoto decided to rename
the “slow sand filtration” process
because of his assertion that theoriginal term is not in fact associatedwith the food chain works as a filter,
and that the actual purification in
biological active layer takes lesstime than one might imagine. His
new term for the process, then,is the “ecological purification
system (EPS),” and he has been
introducing it to the world.
Since the components of EPS
can be constructed without theuse of chemicals or machinery, andsince it features easy maintenanceand high resilience to disasters, theJapan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) has been working
on transferring the technology
to, and disseminating it within,developing countries. Nakamoto
has cooperated with training
programs in Okinawa Prefecture
for trainees invited from Fiji andSamoa. He said, “It was good tohold the training in Okinawa. The
trainees could drink real filteredwater in a subtropical environment
similar to their own, and realizedthat they could maintain such asystem themselves.” Later, as one of
JICA’s experts, Nakamoto visitedthe two countries to follow up on

the training. There, he provided
guidance to local managers andhanded over simple illustrations
that he had prepared to ensure thatthe technology would remain inuse.
The Clean Water Supply System,
a compact water purification
system that Yamaha Motor Co.,
Ltd. is deploying in developing
countries in Asia and Africa tosolve water-related problems, also
employs the ecological filtration
method. The system has steadily
spread because residents canmanage it themselves. Currently,
45 units have been installed in 15
countries. Having safe, managed
water available nearby will not
only raise awareness of hygieneand prevent epidemics, but also
free women and children from theheavy burden of fetching water.
Japan will continue to makeinternational contributions tobuild societies in which all people
have sustainable access to safe
water.

19

POLICY & DIPLOMACYTAKING PRACTICAL STEPS FOR ACHIEVINGA WORLD WITHOUTNUCLEAR WEAPONSIn early April of 2023, the second meeting of the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World without
Nuclear Weapons (IGEP) was held in Tokyo. Amid increasingly severe circumstances for advancing nuclear
disarmament, the IGEP aims to facilitate open and candid discussions concerning a concrete path toward therealization of a world without nuclear weapons among experts from both nuclear- and non-nuclear-weapon states,
which go beyond their respective countries’ positions.
As the global security environment becomesincreasingly severe—with the threat of the use of nuclear
weapons increasing and the division of the international
community deepening further—we are facing theharsh reality of nuclear disarmament. Yet, we musttake the path toward a world without nuclear weapons,
however difficult it may be. This is the very reason why
the Government of Japan established the International
Group of Eminent Persons for a World without Nuclear
Weapons (IGEP). The IGEP serves as an opportunity forparticipants from nuclear- and non-nuclear-weapon states
to exchange ideas and thoughts beyond their respective

20

national positions and engage in candid discussions
concerning a concrete path toward the realization of aworld without nuclear weapons. At the first meeting, heldin Hiroshima in December 2022, the IGEP members
analyzed the current international situation and security
environment surrounding nuclear disarmament, while
also having candid discussions regarding challenges inpromoting nuclear disarmament and priorities on the
nuclear disarmament front.
From April 4 to 5, the second meeting of the IGEP
was held in Tokyo. At this meeting, frank and in-depth
discussions were held on the importance of maintaining

Prime Minister Kishida (second from the right)
receives a courtesy call by the International Group of
Eminent Persons for a World without Nuclear
Weapons (IGEP) on the occasion of the second
meeting held in Tokyo in April. As a Prime Ministerfrom Hiroshima, he has been making realistic andpractical efforts to foster the momentum of theinternational community for nuclear disarmament. He
attended the 10th NPT Review Conference in August2022 as the first Japanese Prime Minister to do so.

and strengthening the Treaty on the Non-Proliferationof Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in light of the current,
extremely severe security environment and the situation
surrounding the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty(New START), with a view to making a positive
contribution to the next NPT review process, which will
start with the first Preparatory Committee for the 11th
NPT Review Conference scheduled at the end of July thisyear. “The discussion was extremely lively and substantial.
We would like to propose as many specific measures as
possible,” said SHIRAISHI Takashi, Chancellor of thePrefectural University of Kumamoto, after the meeting,which he chaired.
The members agreed that it would be meaningful tocompile a specific message to provide input to the firstPreparatory Committee. Then, on April 21, they released
the “IGEP Message,” urging states to prioritize efforts
along with the following pillars in the next NPT review
cycle: (1) reinforcing and expanding norms, including
the commitment to not using or threatening to use
nuclear weapons, (2) taking concrete measures, including
engagement in dialogue on establishing new arms control
arrangements, and (3) revitalizing/strengthening the
NPT review process.
During a courtesy call by the IGEP members on theoccasion of the second IGEP meeting, Prime Minister
Kishida expressed his view that it is important to steadily
promote realistic and practical efforts, including thoserelated to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty(CTBT) and a fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT).

A monument of flowers to welcome the G7 Hiroshima Summit was
installed in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which has facilities andmonuments that explain the history of the atomic bombing of 1945. In its
message released on April 21, the IGEP urged states to increase awareness ofthe horrendous consequences of nuclear weapon use, drawing upon theexperiences of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ATSUSHI MURAKAWA/AFLO

Group photo from the first meeting of the IGEP, held in Hiroshima in
December 2022. The experts—from both nuclear-weapon states such as theUnited States, Russia, India, and China, and non-nuclear-weapon statessuch as Argentina and New Zealand—attentively listened to a testimony
given by Ms. YAHATA Teruko, who suffered the atomic bombing in
Hiroshima at the age of eight. The members also offered flowers to the
Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims and made a visit to the Hiroshima
Peace Memorial Museum. THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS/AFLO

He also expressed his intention to make progress inaccordance with the “Hiroshima Action Plan,” which
he proposed at the 10th NPT Review Conference lastAugust as the first step of a realistic road map for a world
without nuclear weapons, as well as other initiatives.
Circumstances for advancing nuclear disarmament
are becoming increasingly severe. As the only country
to have ever suffered atomic bombings during war, Japan
has the responsibility to take the lead in the efforts by
the international community to realize a world without
nuclear weapons. At the “Nuclear Disarmament and
Non-Proliferation” session of the G7 Foreign Ministers’Meeting held in April in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture,
the G7 reaffirmed its commitment to the ultimate goal ofa world without nuclear weapons, and Japan’s “Hiroshima
Action Plan” was received as a welcome contribution by
the G7 members. At the G7 Hiroshima Summit in May,
Japan, together with the world’s leaders, will send a strong
message from Hiroshima—which, along with Nagasaki,
was devastated by the atomic bomb—that the scourge of
nuclear weapons must never be allowed to happen again,
and will continue to take steps forward to realize a world
without nuclear weapons.

21On March 21, Prime Minister
KISHIDA Fumio visited Kyiv,
Ukraine, to hold a summit with
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
President Zelenskyy said at a jointpress conference, “I am delighted thatthe visit took place when Japan holds
the G7 presidency and is a member of
the UN Security Council.”
ROMAN PILIPEY/GETTY IMAGESJAPAN CONTINUES TO
STAND WITH UKRAINETo demonstrate Japan’s ongoing support for Ukraine, Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio visited the war-torncountry in March. As the G7 presidency this year, Japan will lead the way in creating a united front to restore
international peace and order and will continue to provide a wide range of assistance, taking advantage of its
experience and expertise.
“I very much hoped to visit Ukraine before the G7
Hiroshima Summit to speak in person with President
Zelenskyy and directly convey Japan’s solidarity andunwavering support for Ukraine,” said Prime Minister
KISHIDA Fumio at a joint press conference held
immediately after a summit during his visit to Kyiv,
Ukraine, on March 21. At the invitation of Prime
Minister Kishida, Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy made clear his intention to participate
online in the G7 Hiroshima Summit in May.
At the press conference, Prime Minister Kishidasaid, “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an22

outrageous act that shakes the very foundations of
the international order. As the G7 presidency, Japan
has renewed its determination to exercise leadershipto fully defend the international order based on therule of law.” He also stated that the G7 leaders “willbe prepared to issue a united message” at the Summit
in May.
Since Russia’s full-scale aggression began, Japan has
supported Ukraine in numerous ways. While there
are restrictions on the supply of equipment with thecapacity to kill or wound as stipulated by its “Three
Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment andPOLICY & DIPLOMACY

Technology,” Japan has been providing Ukraine withbulletproof vests, helmets, drones, and so on. Japan
has also supplied equipment, including generators
to overcome the power shortages and broadcasting
equipment to enhance democracy in Ukraine.
Additionally, Japan is providing Ukraine withmine detection equipment and technical training,
thereby applying its experience in mine actions andreconstruction cooperation in conflict-affected areas.
In February, Japan announced roughly 5.5 billion U.S.
dollars of financial support to Ukraine; including
some 900 million dollars in humanitarian assistanceand assistance for recovery and reconstruction, Japan’s
Ukraine-related assistance totaled 7.1 billion dollars.
During his recent visit to the country, Prime Minister
Kishida announced an additional 470 million dollars
in bilateral grant aid in a holistic assistance package
which includes support to the energy sector and 30
million dollars for non-lethal defense equipment
assistance through NATO trust fund.
The Russia’s aggression has also caused tremendous
damage to agriculture in Ukraine, normally one of
the world’s largest grain-producing regions, leading
to an international food crisis. In response, Japanprocured Ukrainian sunflower and corn seeds todistribute them to the country’s smallholder farmers,
prioritizing women and youths. Recovering thecountry’s production capacity in agriculture—a key
Ukrainian industry—will help improve the global
food supply.
Meanwhile, local governments and privateorganizations throughout Japan have acceptedover 2,300 evacuees from Ukraine thus far. With
displacement becoming protracted, the Governmentof Japan decided in February to grant a one-year
extension of living-expense support to those“I deeply appreciate
Japanese government’s
humanitarian assistanceto Ukraine. My sisteralso
evacuatedto
Hiroshima a year ago
and I feel the warm
welcome and support ofthe city and the local
people,” said Khot’na
Anastasiya (right), a
Ukrainian residing in
Hiroshima.

Above: Ukraine continues to experience massive
power shortages due to Russian attacks on its power
plants. The Government of Japan has provided
generators to the country through Japan International
Cooperation Agency ( JICA) and United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees to help Ukrainians
in the bitter cold, and has provided transformer
equipment to restore power lines. JICA
Right: Cambodian personnel demonstrate how to
use Japan’s latest mine detectors during a training
session for mine-clearing experts from the Ukrainian
government in anticipation of the country’s recovery
and reconstruction. Japan has cooperated with
Cambodia in eradicating landmines for more than 20
years since the end of that country’s civil war. JICA

Ukrainian evacuees who have no relatives to rely uponin the country. Also, Prime Minister Kishida, during
a stop in Poland after his visit to Ukraine, announced
that Japan would provide ODA directly to Poland,
which has become a frontline base for humanitarian
aid to Ukraine, as a way to support the increasing
burden and vulnerability of its neighboring countries.
Khot’na Anastasiya, a Ukrainian woman whocame to Japan in 2002 and now lives in Hiroshima, isheartbroken by the devastation in her home country.
Her parents and younger brother still live there.
“More than anything, I want for peace. In Hiroshima,
peace education is taking root and children havea chance to listen to atomic bomb survivors, forexample, which I think is wonderful.”
The situation of the fight to restore justice remains
unpredictable. During Prime Minister Kishida’s
visit, Japan and Ukraine upgraded their bilateralrelationship to a “special global partnership.” As
Prime Minister Kishida stated in Kyiv, Japan willcontinue supporting and working with Ukraine in a
way that is uniquely Japanese until peace returns tothat beautiful land.

23

Left: Prime Minister KISHIDA
Fumio and YAMAZAKI Koetsu(president of F-REI, second fromleft), among others, attend theopening ceremony of F-REI. THE
ASAHI SHINBUN

Bottom: Developing innovativetechnical capacity is one of F-REI’s
major functions. Prime Minister
Kishida visited the National Instituteof Technology, Fukushima College,
which has agreed to work with
F-REI. There, he listened to some ofthe students’ presentations and gavethem words of encouragement,saying, “I hope you have fun as you
improve your skills and carve out abright future.”

CREATIVE
RECONSTRUCTION

BRINGS HOPES AND DREAMS TO LIFE IN FUKUSHIMAWith its aim of “creative reconstruction” following the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011, theFukushima Institute for Research, Education and Innovation (F-REI) was recently established as a base forworld-leading research and development. As a “control tower” for the research facilities in Fukushima
Prefecture, F-REI will lead to further industrialization and technical education, contributing to thereconstruction of the prefecture and the entire Tohoku region.
Twelve years have passed since the huge earthquakethat struck eastern Japan on March 11, 2011. On April
1 of this year—with the backdrop of delicate cherry
blossoms adorning the areas affected by the disaster—an organization was set up as a new driving force forreconstruction: Fukushima Institute for Research,
Education and Innovation (F-REI), whose goal is
to serve as an R&D center for advanced, world-classtechnologies. The institute is expected to play a pivotal
role in the development of the Fukushima Innovation
Coast Framework, a national project that aims to create
industries in the Hamadori area, a coastal region in
Fukushima Prefecture that was severely damaged by
the tsunami-caused accident at the Fukushima Daiichi

24

Nuclear Power Station (NPS).
The opening ceremony, held in Namie Town, Fukushima,
was attended by Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio, whoremarked, “F-REI aims to be a world-class ‘center of
excellence for creative restoration’ that will strengthen
Japan’s scientific and technological capabilities and industrial
competitiveness, while emboldening hopes and dreams forrealizing the reconstruction of Fukushima and Tohoku.”
F-REI’s mission is, as the prime minister noted,
to become a world-class center of excellence forcreative reconstruction. According to YAMAZAKI
Koetsu, appointed as F-REI’s first president, “Creative
reconstruction is not simply about restoring things totheir original state, but is instead about aiming for even

POLICY & DIPLOMACY

greater heights. That is why I believe it is important todemonstrate how we can make our presence felt both
domestically and internationally.”
F-REI has four functions. The first is to promoteworld-class research and development, and the second
is to use the results gained from this research for social
implementation and industrialization. While creating
new industries and accelerating the development ofexisting ones, F-REI will pave the way toward the further
reconstruction of Hamadori, Fukushima, and the whole
Tohoku region. Meanwhile, F-REI’s third function is todevelop human capacity, specifically the young people
who will be instrumental in building the future.
And finally, its fourth function is to act as a “control
tower” for the many different research institutes inFukushima, including such national entities as the
Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, AIST and the
Fukushima Regional Collaborative Research Centerof the National Institute for Environmental Studies.
Those institutions serve as regional campuses for F-REI
to realize the creation of a unique place where research,demonstration, and implementation are carried out
together, and to share the knowledge gained thereby
with the wider world. “Our role is to deepen research asa whole, while avoiding any overlap with research that has
already been carried out in this region,” said Yamazaki.
F-REI’s budget scale for the seven years of its mediumterm plan through 2029 is approximately 100 billion yen,and the aim is to establish a research system consisting ofabout 50 research groups. The five key areas for research
are: (1) robotics; (2) agriculture, forestry and fisheries;(3) energy; (4) radiation science, medicine and drug
development, and industrial applications for radiation;
Yonomori district in Tomioka Town, Fukushima Prefecture, is famous for its
cherry blossoms. Due to the accident 12 years ago at the Fukushima Daiichi NPS,
most of the district was designated as a “difficult-to-return zone,” with parts of it
being designated as Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Bases, but after
the evacuation order of these bases was lifted on April 1, it once again became
possible for people to live among the cherry trees of Yonomori. By May 1 ofthis year, the evacuation orders had been lifted for all the reconstruction andrevitalization bases in the prefecture. THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS

Consolidating the research
institutions scattered around
Fukushima into a large-scalecampus.

Five research themes
undertaken by F-REI
Robotics
Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries
EnergyF-REI Branchat Fukushima
Medical University

F-REI
Headquarters

Radiation Science,
Medicine and Drug
Development, & Industrial
Applications for Radiation
Collection and Disseminationof Data and Knowledge on
Nuclear Disasters

F-REI Iwaki Officeand (5) the collection and dissemination of data andknowledge on nuclear disasters. For example, in the fieldof robotics and drones, there are plans to hold a global
contest to find the absolute best technologies for nextgeneration mobility to be used in harsh environments
after disasters strike.
And in the area of nuclear disasters, F-REI has openeda branch office at Fukushima Medical University as its
first organization devoted to conducting radioecology
research. “I believe that it is our responsibility as Japanesepeople to preserve the data from Fukushima as a legacy, so
that, in the unlikely event of another disaster, people cansay that it was useful,” affirms Yamazaki.
To secure internationally renowned researchers fromJapan and overseas, and to have them settle down andwork on research in Fukushima, the environment toreceive them must be improved in multiple respects,
including housing, medical institutions and schools.
“Everything, including the provision of facilities, has yet
to happen, but that’s why we all think it’s so exciting. I
want F-REI to be involved in regional development sothat we can become a symbol of creative reconstruction,
by restoring people’s affluent lifestyles and enabling themto enjoy a life of multiculturalism.”With high expectations from the local community,
the small steps taken now by F-REI will eventuallylead to great strides involving industry, academia, andgovernment to produce new value. Such is the future wecan all look forward to.

25

At Jinseki International School ( JINIS), thelanguage used in the classroom depends on theindividual theme and the grade level. In every class,teachers encourage students to take the initiative tolearn independently through their experiences. JINISCULTIVATING FUTURE
GLOBALTALENT
WITH JAPANESE VALUESWith the aim of fostering new types of talent to contribute to an increasingly
borderless world, Japan’s first full-boarding primary school, which offers
bilingual education, is now gaining widespread attention. Here we shed lighton the advantages of young children living together and learning in aninternational atmosphere, and the reasons why Hiroshima Prefecture hosts
pioneering initiatives that promote international education.
We are entering an era in which,as technological innovations andother changes make the world
increasingly borderless, it is
becoming ever more importantfor children to acquire a global
mindset from an early age, and,amid advancements in AI androbot technologies, to develop
creativity and an inquisitivemind. Accordingly, interest ininternational schools has beenpiqued in Japan in recent years.
Attracted by what they offer—theopportunity to learn English whileliving in Japan, an international

26

environment, and a curriculumthat emphasizes inquiry-basedlearning—more and more parents
are enrolling their children insuch schools. Various kinds ofinternational schools are now
opening throughout Japan: notonly branches of prestigious
European learning institutions,but also schools with uniquely“Japanese” features.
One such school is JinsekiInternational School (JINIS), which
opened in 2020 in Hiroshima
Prefecture, western Japan. The
first full-boarding primary school

in Japan, JINIS’s major trait isthat despite its being primarily
international in nature, it also
attaches importance to teaching
the Japanese language and culture.
“Understanding local culture andhistory is an extremely importantcriterion for people working on
the global stage. It is a source ofidentity and is also essential tounderstanding the culture and

SUEMATSU Minako, chairperson of JINIS,
founded the school in 2020. She said, “I want
to deliver students a kind of learning that isbased on experiences, as opposed to justoverloading them with knowledge, in a safeand open environment.” JINISSOCIETY

history of other countries, which is
crucial in building good relations.
We want to nurture those seeds
during the primary school years,
when children acquire their
physical and mental foundations,by providing them with various
experiences,” said SUEMATSU
Minako, the school’s founder andchairperson.
The classes taught at JINIS are
based on the national curriculum
guidelines of Japan, and aim
to incorporate the guidelinesof the International PrimaryCurriculum, which is widely used
in international schools aroundthe world and places priority on
an exploratory style of learningthat looks deeply into themes frommultiple perspectives. About 40%of the classes are conducted inJapanese, and importance is also
placed on hands-on classes on
elements of Japanese culture suchas the traditional tea ceremony
and calligraphy. On the lush green
grounds of the campus located on
the Jinseki Plateau, extracurricular
activities in nature are organized
after school and on weekends, suchas seasonal farming experiences
and outdoor pursuits.
It is precisely because JINIS
is a boarding school that students
can engage in such a broad
range of experiences, as it
holistically arranges curricular andextracurricular schedules, which
include weekends. “Of course,
some people think that primaryschool children are too young forboarding school. But allowing
professionals to thoroughly guideand provide children with theeducation and opportunities theyneed has arguments in its favor,”
said Suematsu, who had her own
child attend a boarding school in
Switzerland.
Many other new initiatives
in international education are
successfully being launched in
Hiroshima. They include the2019 opening of a public boarding
school called the Hiroshima
Global Academy—an integrated
junior/senior high school thatis International Baccalaureateaccredited—and the foundingof the Thunderbird Schoolof Global Management-ArizonaState University-Hiroshima University
Global Initiative in 2022.
RegardingherchoiceofHiroshima for the location of
JINIS, Suematsu, who was bornand raised in the prefecture,explained that “Hiroshima is like acondensed version of Japan. It has
diverse nature, from a mild ocean
to snowy mountains, and thereis easy access to both the Kansai
and Kyushu regions. At the sametime, as the site of the world’s firstA-bombing in 1945, it has a long

Top: JINIS boasts an expansive campus on
Jinseki Plateau, about a 90-minute drive from
Hiroshima City. Currently, 44 students
between the ages of six and 12 live and study
together here. JINIS
Bottom: In the dormitory, students live
together in double or triple rooms, where theylearn to adopt regular routines and become
well mannered. JINIS

history of sending messages out tothe world about the importanceof peace. Students can experience
all those various aspects. It was
only after I left my hometown
that I realized what a blessed
environment I had grown up in.”
Many students at JINIS hope toattend boarding school overseas
after graduating, but they canalso go on to middle school inJapan. “There is one student who,
already knowing both English andJapanese, wants to study one morelanguage from middle school andgo on to work someday for theUnited Nations,” said Suematsu.
“There are so many future paths
available to them. It is up to theindividual student to decide which
one to follow.”

Left: After school and on weekends, students canpursue a diversity of outdoor activities such as sports,
farming, and insect collecting. Field trips, which
include visiting a local temple or an art festival, are also
regularly planned. JINIS
Right: Emphasis is also placed on peace education at
JINIS. In addition to regular classes, students in theupper grades take field trips to Hiroshima City,
touring such sites as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Museum, which recounts the history of the atomic
bomb that was dropped on the city in 1945, and the
Genbaku Dome (background), the damage to which
has been symbolically preserved. JINIS

27

TAZAWA Marika runs Kurabito Stay.
She hopes that her work as an independent
female entrepreneur will inspire other women in
outlying parts of Japan.

EXPERIENCE SAKE BREWING
AT THE WORLD’S FIRST

SAKE -BREWERY
HOTEL
Japan’s border control measures against COVID -19 have ended.
As inbound tourism recovers, a sake-brewery hotel in the city of Saku in
Nagano Prefecture is garnering attention. We delve into a new kind of tourism
that emphasizes firsthand experiences and interaction with local residents.
In Japan, visitors can enjoy
the country’s unique culture andabundant natural surroundings
without worrying about public
safety or access to transport. Japanwas ranked number one out of 117
countries by the World Economic
Forum for the first time in the 2021
Travel & Tourism Development

28

Index, and on April 29 of this year,
ended its border control measuresagainst COVID-19.
If you’re planning a trip toJapan, you should definitely visit
the outlying regions; there arealluring places throughout thecountry featuring beautiful nature,rich history, and unique cultural

Saku

heritage. One such place is Saku,
a city in Nagano Prefecture that ishome to Kurabito Stay, the world’s
first sake-brewery hotel where
guests—who come from all over
the world—can try their handat making sake while staying at a
traditional brewing facility.
TAZAWA Marika, who wasborn in the prefecture, runs
Kurabito Stay. After working
for a travel agency and a wine
trading company elsewhere, shereturned to her home prefectureCULTURE

Guests spending the night at Kurabito Stay areable to enjoy Saku sake whenever they want.
The brewery also holds a sake-tasting seminar.

to work in local government
as a quasi-civil servant for thenational
government’s
local
vitalization cooperative program.
Meanwhile, she studied tourism
management at a destination
marketing organization (DMO)
leadership school sponsored by theprefectural government.
Tazawa had first learned about
the problems of mass tourism
when working as a company
employee. The competition to sell
travel packages at low prices was
putting financial and other strains
on certain destinations, resulting
in lower tourist satisfaction.
Wanting to put an end to thatvicious cycle, Tazawa looked to theEuropean towns she had traveled
to so many times since her student
days. She said, “People in Europe’s
regional cities are proud of theirhometowns and their history.
That’s why they’re very lively andnot selling themselves short.”
Inspired by wine tourism, athriving business in Europe, sheenvisioned creating a tourist area
based on sake. “Sake is unique toour country. After visiting over
1,000 tourist destinations in 50
countries around the world, I wassure that making sake in a historic
brewery would be a one-of-a-kindexperience that would inspire therest of the world,” she said. There
are 13 sake breweries in Saku, allwith a long history. Tazawa took
over an old building attached to
one such brewery that had formerly
served as sleeping quarters forbrewers, and converted it into a
hotel, launching operations inMarch 2020.
Hotel guests at Kurabito Stay canenter the operating brewery andjoin in the actual process of making
sake for sale. Priced at 55,000 yen
for one night, it’s not on the cheapside, but many people come for theunique experience. Among them
are numerous repeat customers.
Simultaneous interpretation in
English is available—the hotel
thus has a good reputation amonginternational travelers, with 70%of the guests currently comingfrom abroad.
“We focus on attracting one

Left: Guests can mingle around the large round table on the first floor of Kurabito Stay. Guestrooms
are on the second floor.
Right: Formerly serving as brewers’ accommodation attached to a venerable sake brewery thatremained in business for more than 330 years, Kurabito Stay has been renovated into a hotel.

A brewer offers instruction to a guest in
making sake using methods handed down fromthe Edo Period (early 17th century to mid19th century). Depending on the season,
activities include such processes as washing
rice, making the yeast mash, and so on.

person who will stay for 100 hours,
rather than 100 people who will stayfor an hour each,” said Tazawa. The
hotel serves breakfast (and dinneris included in some plans), but forother meals, guests receive a map of
the neighborhood so they can visit
nearby establishments on their own,thus helping the entire community.
“It makes me happy to hear a guest
say that this is a nice town.”
In the future, she plans to offer
cycling tours to allow visitors toenjoy even more of Saku’s scenery,
as well as an academic course toteach them about sake brewing
in depth. Indicating her desire
to expand the business, she said,“There are other sake-producing
regions in Japan with long histories
like Saku’s. I’d like to be involved inregional revitalization centered on
breweries in other communities.”
When you come to Japan, why
not spend more time in one place
to experience a facet of the culturethat has been nurtured and passed
down over generations?

29

PORTRAITS OF JAPANUNFORGETTABLE
SUMMER
EXPERIENCES
AWAIT YOU IN JAPANIts landscapes changing in fascinating ways, Japan offers a rich variety ofenjoyable activities during the summer, from subtropical resorts
to cool 3,000 meter-class mountains. Many enduring folk dances
Taketomi,
Okinawaand performances can also be seen in this season.

SUBTROPICALISLANDS
Surrounded by emerald green
seas in southernmost Japan,
Okinawa Prefecture is oneof Asia’s preeminent resortareas. Taketomijima, a small
Okinawan island with apopulation of about 300 people,
is a popular destination thatretains the prefecture’s originalscenery of houses with redtiled roofs, stone walls made ofcoral, and white sand roads. A
rocking ride in a water buffalodrawn cart through hamlets
blazing with bougainvillea isabsolutely unforgettable. AFLO

Tateyama,
ToyamaSPECTACULAR
MOUNTAINS
Mountains cover around 70% of theJapanese land area, with 23 summits
above 3,000 m. Of these, Mount Tateyamain Toyama Prefecture has been revered
as a holy mountain since ancient times,
and is a site of spiritual practices. Today,with public transportation reaching an
altitude of 2,450 m, many tourists visit
after the snow has melted, drawn by
beautiful ponds, rare alpine plants, andbreathtaking scenery.

IMAGEMARTRITUAL DANCES© KASHIWAZAKI CITY

In the summer, folk dances are held throughout Japan
praying for the repose of the deceased. Also intended
to pray for a good harvest, the end of plagues, and safety
from disasters, as well as to strengthen local spiritualforces, dances and other folk arts have been handed
down over the centuries in every region. In November
2022, 41 such events were inscribed on the UNESCO
list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as“Furyu-odori, ritual dances imbued with people’s hopes
and prayers.” The photograph shows the Ayakomai dancein Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture, passed down
for about five centuries, with some features having atantalizing resemblance to early Kabuki.

31Summer 2023

Published by

Edited by

Public Relations Office, Cabinet Office
andOffice of Global Communications, Cabinet Secretariat
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